Who's That Girl
by ilyilyx3
Summary: Gabriella had a great life. But when a new girl shows up, everything's taken away from her. Her life is turned upside down. It gets to the point where she wants to commit suicide. Can her friends see through the lies & save her? Eventual Troyella. OOC.
1. Trailer

**Disclaimer:** I got the idea for this story from this soap opera. I forgot the name of it, so don't ask. Anyway, I do not own any of the characters, except Melanie, and any fictional characters. The plot is two thirds mine. [: And if any part of my story is similar to yours, or real life, than it's a complete coincidence. Don't come complaining to me!

(**Bold** is the narrator. _Italic_ is a scene that's happening. Regular are the characters talking.)

**Gabriella Montez was a normal girl who had it all…**

_Shows Gabriella smiling and walking to school._

**Best Friends…**

_Shows Gabriella and her friends laughing__ at Jason_

"Ahh! I've got brain freeze now!"

"God, you'd think he'd learn not to scarf down everything at once."

**A loving family…**

_Shows Gabriella and her family eating dinner._

"Honey, how was school today?"

"Perfect."

**A best friend that could possibly be more…**

_Shows Ga__briella standing next to the girls, staring at a __blue-eyed boy._

"Gabby.. Gabs? Gabriella!"

"What?!"

"Go tell him your feelings already."

**But what happens when another ****girl, comes into the picture?**

_Shows a blonde hanging out with the gang, glaring at Gabriella_

"Okay everyone, I'd like you to meet my new girlfriend, Melanie."

"Nice to meet you all."

**Suddenly, her world is turned upside down.**

**A****ll of her friends shun her…**

_Shows Gabri__ella talking to her ex-best friends_

"Hello!? Shar, Tay, Kels, we had plans yesterday remember?"

"Exactly, we had plans. It was before you showed us who you really are."

**Her family has to**** coincidentally go ****away for months…**

_Shows Gabriella at the airport with her family._

"We're sorry Gabby. But we have no choice. We're only leaving for three months."

"But I need you.."

**She loses her loved job with her friends…**

_Shows a guy yelling at Gabriella._

"Seeing how I'm such an a-hole, you're fired!"

" What?!"

**She loses her captaincy on the cheerleading squad…**

_Shows Gabriella walking into the squad's practice._

"Sorry Gabs, we voted you off the squad."

"You're not longer welcomed here."

**She even loses her spot on the Scholastic Decathlon team…**

_Shows Gabriella being pushed out the chemistry lab._

"What do you mean I'm not on the team anymore?!?"

"That's it. Point blank. You're not on the team anymore."

**Nobody believes her on her side of the story.**

_Shows Gabriella crying and shouting__ on her knees_

"Why won't you guys believe me?!? I didn't do anything. It was all HER!!!"

"Yeah right. Get out of our lives Gabriella. She didn't do anything."

"Yes she did! You have to believe me!"

**How will she cope with all of this pain?**

_Shows__ a thin and pale Gabriella on the ground sitting near a razor, with blood streaked wrists_

"Why am I doing this to myself? There's an even faster way to give her what she wants."_  
_

**Will the gang ever**** figure out the truth?**

_Shows__ the gang__ minus Gabriella talking_

"She told me that on that night, her dad went to the hospital, and she went to visit him."

"Pfft, yeah right. And on the night I straightened my 'fro."

"No I think she was right. My parents went to the hospital to visit someone that same day."

"Wait, if Gabriella was at the hospital, then who was the one who hurt Mel?"

**Can they save her in time?**

_Shows the gang looking at an open diary, and blood stained razors._

"I can't believe we didn't trust her. She's our best friend for god's sake."

"Oh my god. Guys, we have to save her before she does this."

**Or will they be too late?**

_Shows the gang__ running._

"Please, God. Don't let her do this."

"There she is!"

Vanessa Hudgens as Gabriella Montez

_Shows Gabriella cutting herself._

Zac Efron as Troy Bolton

_Shows Troy leaning in to kiss Gabriella._

Monique Coleman as Taylor Mckessie

_Sh__ows Taylor knocking on a door._

Ashley Tisdale as Sharpay Evans

_Shows __Sharpay__ crying._

Corbin Bleu as Chad Danforth

_Shows Chad holding a razor._

Lucas Grabeel as Ryan Evans

_Shows Ryan following Gabriella._

Olesya Rulin as Kelsi Nielson

_Shows __Kelsi__ sobbing hysterically_

Ryne Sanborn as Jason Cross

_Shows Jason __looking for something._

Chris Warren Jr. as Zeke Baylor

_Shows Zeke holding up a locket._

Hilary Conrad as Melanie Green

_Shows Melanie laughing menacingly _

Starring in… Who's That Girl.

**-AUTHOR'S NOTE 1/30/08:** Warning, the first couple of chapters in this story are really poorly written. Read chapters 7 or above. That's when I got used to using and I put more emotion into my writing. Aka, 7 are the better chapters. I suggest you read them instead of sifting through the trash I wrote in the beginning. If you come across something you don't know about, feel free to go back to the beginning ones then. Just be prepared for some lame writing in them.

But, not to worry. I will be rewriting those bad chapters soon enough. Not so much as the plot, but the horrible writing inside of it.


	2. Pancake Ritual

**The response to the ****trailer**** was great! Th****ank you everyone for reviewing, and encouraging me to go on. ****Reading all of the reviews r****eally made my day. ****Come on 12 reviews for a trailer? I LOVE you guys! ****Lol. ****Anyway, this i****s my first time actually posting a ****Fanfic.**** I**** looked at the ****trailer****, and**** saw tons of mistakes in my first post. Anyone else see them? ****Haha****. Don't ****worry;**** I'll try to be more careful**** next time****. :) But hey, it was 1 o'clock in the morning. You ****can't blame me. ****:P**** No more typ****ing, onto the first chapter!**

**Who's That Girl**

**Chapter 1****- Pancake Ritual**

**Gabi's POV-**

It was a regular day for me. I woke up and did my normal morning routine, and I walked downstairs, to see such a familiar sight in front of me. My parents were making breakfast, but with their twist of course. Dad was playing around with the pancake mixer, and my mom was telling him to stop, and of course, he spilt some on my mom, and a pancake batter war was started. The house was soon filled with sounds of pancake batter dripping, and my parents' laughter. I would've have joined in like I normally do, but I'm wearing a new shirt, plus I'm going to be late if I have to get ready again.

"Gabi… Gabriella?" I was brought out of my thoughts when I suddenly felt something felt tugging on my jeans. I looked down to see my little 5 year old sister, Isabella. I kneeled down to her eye level to see her. She looks exactly like me when I was younger. A little short, curly brown hair, deep brown eyes, and an exotic complexion.

"Yes Izzy?"

"Where's mama 'n daddy?" she made a puppy pout.

"They're in the kitchen. But I wouldn't go in there unless you want pancake batter in your hair."

Isabella started to giggle lightly. "So? It's still okay."

"I think mom already made some eggs. Come on. I'll take you there."

I smiled and picked up Isabella with one arm and we made our way into the kitchen.

"Gabby, sit Bella, over here." My mom said, and she pulled out a chair. I let Isabella down, and she ran over to her chair. My dad was already seated at the table, along with my mother. They were both covered in pancake mix, but that didn't bother them. They just sat there like nothing was wrong. They were both talking to Isabella for a while, until they noticed that I didn't sit down. My dad turned around, and they both focused their attention on me.

"Gabriella, aren't you going to join us?"

"Actually, I would love to, but Taylor arranged another Scholastic Decathlon meeting this morning." I looked down at my watch, "By the looks of it, I'm gonna be late. Sorry guys, but I really have to go. " I grabbed a piece of toast, and kissed my parents and Isabella good-bye. "Love you." "Bye Gabby."And with that, I grabbed my backpack, and left.

I really wish that she didn't make these meeting so early in the morning. They were rescheduled for me. Since I have cheerleading practice in the afternoons, and I always had to miss the meetings. So then, Taylor got the "brilliant" idea to switch the times so now have the meetings in the morning. I'm really glad that the school's close to my house. I started to think about school and life in general for me. I smiled. My life's perfect. I just need to work on the Troy issue. I was about to sigh, but then I saw Taylor standing there in front of the school in a daze. Typical. She's been hanging out with Chad and Jason too much. I silently giggled.

**Taylor's POV**** (5 minutes earlier)**

Here I am, standing outside of the school, and Gabriella still hasn't shown up yet. Maybe her parents made the pancake batter explode again. That happens way too much. I remember the first time we slept over at her house; it was when I first saw the "pancake ritual".

_Flashback__ (10 years ago)__-_

_"Hey Gabs, what was that __explody__ sound?" I asked her as__ abrupt laughter started downstairs._

_"Yeah Gabby, I'm __ki__nda__ scared." __Sharpay__ replied._

_"That was just my mommy and daddy. It happens like every morning. I got used t__o it. It's __kinda__ funny. __Wanna__ see?" She asked us as she got out of her sleeping bag, and opened the door. __She walked out, and w__e hesitantly went after her._

_"Come on guys, down here." She said as she pointed downstairs. We went with her, and saw her parents laughing loudly. T__he __kitchen was covered in batter__, the windows above the sink, the cabinets, the draws, the refrigerator, and even the eggs and pancakes that were cooked already_

_Sharpay,__ ran__ in front of us__ because we left her behind__, but she __accidentally __slipped on the floor, and ended up with tons of batter in her hair. Gabriella and I started laughing so hard. It was really funny, until she threw some at us, then it was war.__ Everyone was throwing, and dodging the batter. It must've __seemed__ fun, because after th__e three of us were throwing, Gabriella's__ parents joined in. And let's just say__ Gabby's mom has a__ good arm._

_15 minutes later, everyone, and everything was covered, we were still throwing, even when my, and Sharpay's parents came in. They didn't see it coming, but when they stepped into the kitchen, they were immediately blasted with the batter by, yours truly. It was an accident, I was aiming for Sharpay, but she ducked. I really regretted it, when I first saw their reactions, but __then they suddenly joined into the fight. Later, it was Parent__s, against kids. They beat the kids so badly. I guessed that they've done this before?_

_"I can't believe that you two still do the __pancake__ ritual in the morning.__ And now, you bring our children into it.__" My dad said to Gabby's parents._

_"Hah, we don't. Until Jake over here, spilt everything, and Sharpay fell into the mess.__ Then, it was college all over again, but our kids' style.__"__ Gabby's mom replied as she pointed to us._

_Gabriella and I were laughing really hard over her mom's last comment. That didn't go so well to Sharpay, because after we were laughing, she threw the pancake covered eggs at us, and another war was started. Everything was thrown, everything from milk, eggs, to even plain water. It was really fun, until we had to clean it up 30 minutes later.__ And__ that was not fun at all.__ Cleaning up the mess__ was basically tort--_

_End Flashback._

"Tay, Taylor!?" she was waving her hand in front of my face.

"Huh, what? Oh hey Gab. Ready to go?" Gabriella laughed slightly.

"What were you thinking about earlier? Before I brought you back to earth?" Gabriella was not giggling.

"Ha-ha. Very funny. But I was thinking about our first sleepover at your house when we were six, remember the pancake ritual?"

Gabriella started laughing really hard that she was clutching her side. "How could I forget? That's when we first discovered my mom's good arm, and Shar's evil side."

I laughed at her comment. "Yeah, and we also discovered that that was our parents college ritual."

"Right, but I still don't get it though. How could a food fight be considered as a ritual?"

"I have no clue. But remember when Shar fell down because we left her?"

"Yeah, she was so scared. It's hard to believe how mean she turned out to be nowadays."

"I know! But at least her anger is directed to the guys and not us."

"Oh! Remember when she cut off a piece of Chad's afro off?"

"Oh my god. That was super funny!" We were laughing really hard. But then, I gasped as I look down at my watch.

"Come on Gabs, we're almost late to the meeting." I grabbed her hand, and pulled her into the school, we were both giggling.

**Troy's POV**** (30 minutes later)**

I was practicing in the gym, with Chad, Jason, and Zeke. I looked up at the clock, and it read 7:30. Gabriella and Taylor should be done now with the meeting now.

"Come on guys it's time to go get the girls." I said and I made another free throw.

"Okay Cap, Jason and Zeke, go get the drama queens, and you and I will go get the brainiacs." Chad said as he pointed at me, and started laughing.

"Dude, the girls are going to kill you if they ever find out that you call them those names." Zeke reminded him. I patted Chad on the back. As I said, "You better watch it man. I heard Sharpay has some anger issues that she really needs to get out." Chad cringed. "Those nicknames never leave the gym. Remember that guys." He said. "Aw, Don't worry man. I'll try to find time to go to your funeral." Jason said as all of us laughed. "Yeah, yeah. Tease the guy with the beautiful afro."

"Okay. That's enough you guys. We'll tease Afro Man later, with the girls. Maybe Sharpay will cut off another piece of it." Everyone was chucking when I said that. But Chad was almost in tears. "That was not funny! It took me forever to grow that piece back." I threw my hands up in defeat. "It's okay Chad, chill." I looked up at the clock again, "It's time. Let's go get the girls before we're late." I threw the basketball into the basket with the rest of them and went to the locker room.

Jason and Zeke left. Chad and I were the only ones left. I went back to the court to gather up the rest of the basketballs, as for Chad, I had no idea what he was doing. After I was done, I felt someone tapping on my back. I turned around to a scary sight. It was a Hyper Chad.

"Troyhurryup." Chad said really fast as he was jumping up and down. "Did you eat the candy that was in my bag?" he laughed. "Duh. It tasted good, and now it feels good! Dun, dun. So good! Oh! Like a sugar and spice. Whooo!" I backed away from him a little. "That was for the whole gang. Uhh, whatever. Just go ahead man without me. I gotta get my stuff from my locker."

"Kaybuttohurryupthough!" I winced, and he left.

15 minutes later, I showered, and I had on clean clothes. I went to my locker and threw my gym bag inside. Then, I got my books for the next two periods. The moment I looked up, I saw a mysterious looking blonde in front of me.

**Wow. I wonder who the blonde is.**

**I'm not really proud of this chapter, b****ut ****it's**** okay. ****I'll try for a better one next time.****How did I do on my first post? I didn't really know how to write it out. I ****did it this way, ****and other way, but I finally decided to use this version. ****Please read and review. I ****want**** your opinions. S****o I'll know how you want the story to be like. I'll try my best to make the story more interesting. I don't want to lose any readers already.**

**I have another story idea, I'll make a trailer for it soon, and I'll get it up. Hopefully you guys will like it just like you liked this story.**** And I'm going to make a list of all of the characters and their backgrounds, like boyfriends, relationships to Gabriella, etc. See? You have those two to look forward to, and chapter two for ****Who's**** That Girl.**

**I'll probably ****get the ****next chapter up in a couple of days**** Depending on how much you want me to continue and school's ****starting ****next week ****for me, ****and I have to get ready. I didn't do what ****authors normally do. I didn't write out the whole st****ory****. I'm writing as I go.****But I do have the storyline****So, yeah.****Okay. No more rambling. Thanks again, and review!**

**P.S. I didn't really have time to check it over. Sorry if there are lots of mistakes or anything. ;)**


	3. Characters 'Not A Chapter'

I'm revising the characters chart.

Disregard this page/chapter whatever it's called, for now. (:


	4. Chad's Pet Names

**Discl****aimer: I only own a part of the**** plot, my laptop, mouse, and all of the other ****things ****I bought**** with my own money**** or my parents****'**** money. ;)**

**Thank you all for revi****ewing. I really appreciate it****. I'm glad that you guys enjoyed the pancake**** ritual, Hyper Chad,**** and ****the ****afro thing**** from the last chapter****. This story's going to get depressing soon****, so I just wanted to write as much**** humor so you won't get too sad or anything**** when the time comes to be sad****. How thoughtful of me right? ****Lol****. I'm kidding****. But ****is ****kinda**** does get depressing. ****So yeah.**** Okay, enough of my pointless typing, and, onto the next chapter:)**

**(A/N: The italics are when the ****POVer's**** are thinking. ****AKA their thoughts.)**

**Who's That Girl**

**Chapter 2****- Chad's ****Pet ****Names**

**Troy's POV**

I was rummaging through my locker for my book for homeroom, and the next two periods when I turned around and looked up, I saw a mysterious looking blonde standing in front of me.

_Whoa, this girl looks really familiar. I think I've seen her__ somewhere before. I think it w-_

I was pulled out of my thoughts when she starting talking to me.

"Hey Troy." She said while she stepped closer to me.

"Uhh. Hi, do I know you?" I replied taking a step back. I almost fell into my locker doing so.

"Of course! Don't you remember me? You should." she said flirtatiously.

"Ha… Ha.. Sorry, but I don't." I said nervously.

**Chad's POV**** (A few minutes earlier)**

I'm walking down the hallways now. Actually, more like bouncing and jumping.

_I can't help but be hyper__. I LOVE food, especially __sugar, a__nd YOU my golden mane__Number one is my afro__, number two is food, and three is Taylor. But don't tell her that.__ I would __soo__ get in trouble with her. And I don't want that._

I finally got to the Chemistry lab, and there are the brainiacs.

_Taylor looks really pretty. Gabi looks okay. She's my little sister. I wonder if she'll ever tell Troy how she feels about him. He feels the same way! Taylor and I have been trying like FOREVER to get them to tell each other how they feel. Since they don't believe it when Taylor and I tell them so. __Huh, I wonder__ where Troy is. I bet he's getting more candy. __Oooh. __Yup.__ I want some more._

I started to jump and bounce with Jimmy the basketball in my hands, but it was too hard. So I just balanced it on my head. That lasted for only a minute, it would've have been longer, but I felt the mane flattening. I decided on just dribbling Jimmy.

I looked back into the room and they weren't there anymore. All I see is Ernie and Albert picking their noses.. And eating it.

"EWWW."

I grimaced immediately.

"Where'd Tay-" I started.

"Chad!" I looked behind me to see Taylor and Gabriella standing right in front of me. I jumped like two feet in the air. I almost dropped Jimmy too! I was NOT expecting that.

"Jeez. Don't scare me like that. I think the golden mane's going grey. And I almost dropped Jimmy!" I said jokingly.

"Jimmy?!? Who's Jimmy?" Gabriella asked.

I scoffed. "How dare you no know who Jimmy is, Gabster?" I asked while snapping my fingers dramatically. The girls started laughing really hard.

"J-Jim-Jimmy is h-his ba-bask-basketball." Taylor said between laughs.

"What?!?! He named his basketball? Wow." Gabriella said between laughs as well.

I scoffed again. "Ha, ha. Very funny. Come on let's get our books and hit homeroom before the rest beat us there." And I started to walk away from them, smirking

"Hey! Wait up Afro Man." They both yelled.

_Ahh__, I love that name. I'm very proud of it._

I started bouncing and jumping again, and I can swear that they were laughing at me. But when I turned around, they had straight faces. I started bouncing again, and whoop, more laughing. I was getting tired of it, so I just dribbled Jimmy down the halls. I got a pretty good head start from the girls. I was almost at my locker, when I stopped abruptly. In front of me, was not a pretty scene.

_Damn it. I __gotta__ stall Gabi and __Tay__ before they get over here. Gabi's goi__ng to be __soo__ mad when she sees this blonde bimbo flirting with Troy, and him flirting back._

I ran back to them, and blocked their way.

"Hey, umm. LookatwhatIcando!" I said really quickly as I was jumping up and down with Jimmy in one arm. They looked at me suspiciously, before Taylor started to talk.

"What the heck are you doing Chadford?" I winced when she said that.

"Taylor! I told you, not to use my full name! Nobody knows about it!" I yelled before pushing Gabi back in the Chemistry Lab.

"Umm, Gabi, you forgot something. And I uh, need to talk to Taylor real fast. So can you wait in here?"

"….Okay… If you wanted me t-" I interrupted her by slamming the door. I quickly ran back to Taylor.

"What the hell was that all about Chadford?" She asked impatiently.

"Look!" I said as I pointed her to Troy's direction. Her mouth was wide open.

"What the heck is he doing?!? Doesn't he like Gabs?"

"I know, Tay! Why do you think I was distracting you two? I don't want the Gabster to be sad."

She smiled softly, and gave me a hug.

"You're so considerate for her. She's lucky to have such a great big brother."

"Aww, and you're lucky that you have such a handsome boyfriend." I smirked, and she let go, and punched my arm.

"Hey. Don't push it."

"To the limit, limit. Cuz we're in it-" Before I even finished the line in that chorus, she put her hand on my mouth.

"I still can't believe you listen to that Corbin guy. He is so Disney."

I gasped. "You did not just diss my main man. He's cool! Well, his looks are anyway."

"You only like him because he has an afro just like yours." I gasped even more dramatically.

"WHAT!? My afro is soo much cooler than his."

"No it's not they're practically the same." She said nonchalantly.

"Yes it is Taylor!"

"No it's not Chadford."

"Yes it is Taylor Gertle Mckessie!" I smirked. No one else knows her middle name.

"No it's. What?! Did you just say my middle name?" She looked really mad at this point.

"No." I said under my breath.

_I'm a__fraid that she's going to do something drastic like last time. I accidentally told Troy her middle name. And guess what?! She took my shampoo! My afro was lifeless for a whole day._

"So, you're afro is not cooler than that Disney guy right?"

"Yeah. Okay. Whatever." I said thinking that she was lecturing me.

"Ha! See? You just agreed with me. Your afro is not cooler than Corbin's." She was laughing at this.

"Wait. What?!? I did not!" I yelled.

_I was distracted! Not fair._

"Whatever. Chadipoo." I winced at the sound of that.

"Don't call me that!" I exclaimed.

She started laughing.

"Chadikins. Chadalie. Chadiewadie." Taylor teased.

"Stop! Don't you remember the first time that I met you, Troy, Shar, and Gabs? It was scary!"

_Flashback __10 __years ago)_

_It was the first day of kindergarten. I was really excited, and nervous.__ My dad had just dropped me off, after he reassured me once more that my afro was going to be fine. I didn't believe him. But I still went into the classroom, only to be pushed out the door, and into the playground by the teacher, Mrs. Hancock. I looked around for anyone to play with,__ and I saw a group of kids __walking up to me, and they introduced themselves._

_"Hi, I'__m Tr__oy."__A blue-eyed boy said coolly._

_"I'm Gabriella."__ The brunette introduced herself._

_"My name's Taylor.__" A dark skinned girl told me nervously._

_"Ryan.__" The weird looking gay kid said._

_"Sharpay'__s the name!" A girl wearing __sparkley__ pink clothes exclaimed._

_"I'm Chad."__ I replied back to all of them._

_Suddenly the blonde girl took a step closer to me, and batted her eyelashes._

_"I'__m going to call you __Chadipoo__, and you're going to play __barbie's__ with me!"__ she said getting even closer to me._

_I took a step back__"No way!__ I don't play with girly dolls!" I yelled._

_"What?!__ You're going to play with me and you're going to like it!"__ she glared at me with icy eyes._

_I got scared,__ and started to run. But Sharpay started chasing me around the playground. All I heard, was laughing, and giggling. Worse of all, Sharpay's incessant screaming._

_"__Chaddie! __Chadipoo! __Chadikins! __Chadalie__! Chadiewadie! __Chaderella__! Chad White an__d the Seven Dwarfs! __Chadilicious__! Get your __tush__ back here! My Barbie's getting lonely!" she yelled as she ran after me. I look__ed back over to the others, who were laughing their pants off._

_"Hey! You guys! How the h-e-double hockey sticks does she run in those heels?!__" I yelled._

_After ten minutes of running, she finally stopped chasing me. Instead, she ran inside, and got a bunch of tape, and glue. Then, she ran back to where I was sitting, and she stuck her Barbie to my hair! I screamed for my life, as she laughed and the others laughed. I immediately ran to the teacher._

_"__Ahh__ Call 911!!! Man down! Man down! My afro has a stinking Barbie doll __stuck __in it!__ And it's dying! DYING!!! Get help! Get my dad! Get a hairstylist!__Get some shampoo!__ Do something! I don't __wanna__ be __balded__"__ I exclaim__ed._

_Ten minutes later, the teacher finally got__ the Barbie out of my hair. I was glad, until I saw bit of my afro in it! Then, I was officially traumatized. I'm never going near glue, tape, or __barbies__ again. Neither am I going near __Shar__--_

_"AHHH!!__ You got your stupid hair on my Barbie!" Sharpay yelled in my ear._

_"WHAT?!__You're the one who __stucked__ it in my hair!"_

_She shrieked even louder._

_"Would you stop screaming?!?__ My __ear's__ are hurting."_

_"Whatever!" and with that, she walked away from me. I was so relieved._

_End Flashback._

I stopped reminiscing when I looked, and noticed Troy, and the bimbo weren't there anymore. "Hey! Where'd he and the bimbo g-" a voice then interrupted me.

"Where'd who go?" it asked. I turned around to see Troy standing right behind me, and Taylor out of sight. My eyes grew big, and my mouth was opened a little.

"N-nothing, man! Uhh. What was up with you and that blonde?" I asked suspiciously, and eyeing him.

"Oh, you saw that?"

"Yeah, who was she? And why were you flirting with her?"

"Who? Oh, you mean Mel?" he asked.

"I guess so. But what happened to you loving Gabi?"

"I do. But I told you already. I'm trying to get over her. Besides, Melanie's pretty nice. She's my mom's boss' daughter. And I used to be friends with her before her parents got divorced. Now, she's living around here again." He explained while stuffing his hands in his pocket.

"God what's Gabi going to think when she sees this." I murmured under my breath, but he heard me.

"What?"

"I- uhh. Nothing. I said I'm wondering if Gabi has pink on her wrist." I said awkwardly.

"… Okay.. You're spending too much time with Sharpay man. Pink? Jeez."

"Anyway, did you happen to see Taylor? I was talking to her, but then you came, and she vanished."

"Yeah. I did. I came over to talk to you guys. But I saw you talking about something Sharpay related, and Taylor came up to me, and told me when you were done spacing out, she'll be in homeroom with Gabriella." He said in a "duh" tone.

"Oh, yeah. I was retelling when we first met in kindergarten."

He started cracking up almost too soon. "I knew it! Hah, that was such a funny day. I'll never forget it. That's when we met, and that was your first experience with Sharpay, and her barbies. Wasn't it pure fun Chadikins?"

"It was not! It took me like forever to get the mane back into a good condition." I said while patting my afro.

He continued to laugh.

"Whatever you say Chadipoo. No wait, Chaddie!"

"Shut up." I said sternly.

He was laughing even harder as he said, "Oooh! I got one. Chaderella! Chad White and the Seven Dwarfs. Chadilicious!"

I glared at him. "Hello? Can we get over that, and go to homeroom? Zeke, Jason and the Drama queens must have beaten us there already. And I blame you for that. Mr. Flirty Mcflirtenheimer." I said while dribbling Jimmy, and chuckling. He abruptly stopped after I said that.

"Hey. I am not Mr. Flirty Mcflirtenwhatever you said. I was barely socializing with Mel."

"Yeah right. Socializing my ass. It was so flirting. It's the same thing as you do with Gabs." I stated.

"Whatever. Let's go." He and I started to walk down the halls to homeroom.

"But really, Troy. Are you seriously going to let go of Gabriella? Come on man, you love her. And you'll never know unless you tell her."

He suddenly stopped walking. "Chad, I've told you already. I love her, and I always will. But she doesn't love me back. So why reach for something that you'll never get even if you do try your hardest? It's okay man. I'll move on. Slowly, and painfully, but I'll get over her…eventually." He said, his voice full of sorrow.

I patted his back. "Troy, just tell her. And if she rejects, she rejects. Don't go through all of the "What If" shit. Really. Just do it. Besides, I'm a hundred percent sure she feels the same way." He shook his head.

"No Chad. I'm not risking our damn friendship, just to know how she feels. I know how she feels. She doesn't like me. So just drop it okay? DAMN IT! I'm not doing it. And that's final."

"Fine, but in the future, when you go through that phase, and you need someone to vent to, don't tell it to me. I don't want to be there to listen to my best friend regretting the decision that he made to not do something that should've been done. The decision, that I advised him to make." I said as I walked away fuming, leaving Troy standing there speechless.

It was our first serious fight. And it was over a girl. Not just a normal girl, she was our girl. My little sister, and his crush.

**Troy's POV**

_Is __Chad__ipoo__ right? Should __I really confront Brie about my__ feelings__ towards her__Does she feel the same way like __Chaddie's__ guessing? _I silently chuckled. _Those names Sharpay called him were hilarious. I remember that day so clearly. Note to self: Stop calling Chad those pet names, __and get some food. I'm getting really hungry. _I shook my head. _Okay, what was I thinking? Oh yeah. Back on topic; D__amn, I don't know what to do. I'm __gonna__ ditch Homeroom. __I don't want to hear __Darbus__ lecturing us on the same thing over and over again. I mean, we get it. You love theater, and drama. You really love talking about it. But can't you talk and think about it on your own time, and teach us and damn thing?! God, __I really need some air.__ My mind's all jumbled up._

I ran back to my locker and dumped my stuff there. I soon went through the lunch room, up the old abandoned staircase, and to my sanctuary, East High's Roof top. Gabriella and I found this place in freshman year. The whole gang was in separate classes, except for us two. We were trying to find AP Math, Room. 135, but instead we stumbled upon this place. It was very beautiful. And after that day, Gabriella, or I would always come up here to think, or just get away. It was the perfect spot to do so. None of the gang knows about it except us two. And I want to keep it that way. We even promised each other to keep this placea secret.

I looked around at all of the beautiful plants, trying to find the right one, and then I finally spotted it. It was a pot a daisies that sat right next the shelf of plants. It was my favorite because when Gabriella and I first discovered this place, it was the first plant we saw. Plus, we carved our names onto the bottom of the pot.

I went over to the daisies, and lifted up the plants. I smiled brightly. Our carving were messy and now they were starting to fade, but at least it was still there. From afar, you'd think it read I.D. & C.N. but up close, you'd see T.B. & G.M. I'm pretty amazed that no one else ever found this place. I bet the teachers know about it, but still. We're always hanging out here, and yet we're never seen anyone else come through those doors, and walking around up here.

I placed the pot of daisies back to its original position, and went close to the edge of the rooftop. The bell just rang, and yet I just stood there. As if I was living in my own world. Nothing could bother me right now. I started to look over the edge. I saw the little streets of Albuquerque. Everything looks so peaceful. I must have been there for a long time, because the next bell I heard, was signaling that first period was beginning. I started running down the stairs and to my locker when I bumped into someone they fell to the floor, and all of their books and papers flew everywhere. When the mess subsided, I looked down, and I saw that I knocked down…

**Hmm, I wonder who Troy bumped into. ****Actually who he knocked down.**** Lol.**

**Yay****! I got this chapter up today. I was going to post it tomorrow, but I was determined to finish it for you guys since like all of your reviews were like, "Update soon!" and "I love your story!" etc. I LOVE reviews like that. It inspires me to keep on updating sooner. ****Hint, hint.**** Lol.**

**I am extremely pleased with this chapter. I tried to make it ****much ****longer, since the last one wasn't that long. ****It was 9 pages long on word! That's a record. The last chapter only took up 6 pages. ****When I was writing it, I kept on laughing. ****Haha****. I hope you enjoy this as much ****as I enjoyed writing it.**** I'll try to add in the other characters, but it'll take time, and more chapters, but by the fourth, or fifth chapter, everyone will be in the story. So don't worry about that. Oh, and surprise! Melanie made a little appearance today. ****Unexpected right?**** Well, I wasn't actually going to introduce her so soon. I was actually going to make the person Troy saw, a cheerleader, but what the heck. I put Melanie in it instead. You won't hear about her plan until later on.**** Okay, I think that's all you need to know now. Also, I'll probably post up the next chapter in two or three days. I haven't started it yet. Sorry. But I have a life, and I have a lot of other things I need to do. Unless you guys give me like 20 more reviews in a day, I'll stay up all night and try to finish the next chapter. Like I said, when you say "Update soon!"**** in a review,**** I get really inspired to update ****asap****. Lol.**** I don't know why. ****But yeah.**** Okay. No more rambling. Onto the end of this page! ****Lol.**** Remember to review, and tell me your thoughts about this chapter, or story. ****Whatever.**

**P.S. Sorry if I made**** any more mistakes. Like I said,**** I tried to post this chapter up really quickly. So I didn't have much time to check it over. ****As always.****Lol.**** Bye! –Ilyilyx3**


	5. Melanie's Mini Plan

**I was going to post this on Sunday, but then I just found out that I won't be home the whole day. So I decided to post it today. Aren't you glad? ****Haha****. Anyway, ****Thank**** you**** for ****all of ****the reviews! They really made me happy. I'm glad that you guys enjoyed Chad's nicknames. My friends helped me with those. :)**** Also, just know that until the fifth chapter, there will be no drama, just humor -coughs- Chad and Jason-coughs-. Ahem. I think there's a bug going around. ****Lol. ****Kidding.**** If you guys have any funny ideas for me to put in, feel free to tell me them. Just review, and tell me your ideas. If I use any, I'll give you credit in my usual rants. ;) Okay. No more. ****Onto the next chapter.**** Or some more words, ****and ****then chapter 3.**** Enjoy!**

**To: **_**mysupermanwillcome**_**- You are so funny! Unfortunately, Melanie's a fictional person. Unless there's someone out there that's exactly like her, you can't think mean thoughts about her. I'm sorry. But you can ****poo**** her all you want! ****Lmao****. That ****sounded ****soo**** wrong. Thanks**** for your review. It really had me laughing.**** I loved it! ****It was one of my ****fav**** reviews. ****:D**

**Disclaimer:** Why must you make me say this all of the time? Sadly, I only own little bits of this story.

(**A/N**_ Italics_ are still the POVer's thoughts. You must know that by now, right?)

**Who's That ****Girl**

**Chapter 3- ****Melanie's Mini Plan**

**Troy's POV-**

When the mess subsided, I looked down, and I saw that I had knocked down Melanie. I kneeled down to help her with the books and papers. I collected as many of them as I could, and gave them to her. Which she gratefully took.

"I am so sorry Mel. Are you okay?" I asked with sympathy in my voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine no worries Troy." She smiled, and stood up, she looked fine for a moment, but then, she almost fell, but I caught her.

"Mel?"

"Oww, my ankle. It hurts Troy." She said, and she was balancing on one foot. I kneeled down once again to check her ankle. It looked fine to me.

"It looks fine Melanie. Not swollen, not broken, nothing. Are you sure it hurts?"

"Oh, nevermind. It feels fine now. Thanks Troy." She replied, and kissed my cheek. She then took her things, and skipped down the hallway.

_Weird.__ Man, I'll never get women._

**Melanie's POV- (30 minutes earlier)**

_Oh wait, I forgot to ask him if he wants to come over to my house later. Better go find him._

I walked back into the halls, and I went past Troy's locker. Around the corner, I heard some voices, one of them being Troy's. So I just stood there, and listened.

"Who? Oh, you mean Mel?" Troy asked.

"I guess so. But what happened to you loving Gabi?" The kid with the afro replied.

"I do. But I told you already. I'm trying to get over her. Besides, Melanie's pretty nice. She's my mom's boss' daughter. And I used to be friends with her before her parents got divorced. Now, she's living around here again." He explained while stuffing his hands in his pocket. The afro guy was mumbling something under his breath, but I couldn't hear what.

"What?" Troy asked.

_Guess he didn't hear him either._

"I- uhh. Nothing. I said I'm wondering if Gabi has pink on her wrist." he said awkwardly.

"… Okay.. You're spending too much time with Sharpay man. Pink? Jeez."

"Anyway, did you happen to see Taylor? I was talking to her, but then you came, and she vanished."

_Okay this is getting __so__ boring. Hurry up afro guy. I __gotta__ talk to my __Troyikins. __His afro looks freaky. Like a cobweb even. Man, where does Troy find these creepy people? And why does he __wanna__ be friends with this afro guy anyway? He could have me. _I inwardly laughed. _Hmm, I should get a __mani__ and a __pedi__ later. I am __so__ stressed right now. O__oh, I should get daddy to get me more credit cards! I already maxed out __the of__ seven. Damn the small maxing __lim__-_

I was brought out of my thought when I heard Troy laughing loudly.

"Whatever you say Chadipoo. No wait, Chaddie!" Troy exclaimed.

_Okay, is Troy gay or something?_

"Shut up." The afro guy said sternly.

Troy was laughing even harder as he said, "Oooh! I got one. Chaderella! Chad White and the Seven Dwarfs. Chadilicious!"

_I'm guessing that afro guy's name is Chad?_

Afro guy, Chad glared at him. "Hello? Can we get over that, and go to homeroom? Zeke, Jason and the Drama queens must have beaten us there already. And I blame you for that. Mr. Flirty Mcflirtenheimer." he said while dribbling a basketball, and chuckling. Troy abruptly stopped laughing after that was said.

"Hey. I am not Mr. Flirty Mcflirtenwhatever you said. I was barely socializing with Mel."

_Aww__, he's disguising the flirting we did. How cute._

"Yeah right. Socializing my ass. It was so flirting. It's the same thing as you do with Gabs." He said.

_Gabs? Who the hell is Gabs?_

"Whatever. Let's go." Troy said, and he started walking as the Chad person followed. I immediately got closer, and leaned onto the side of the lockers, so they wouldn't see me.

"But really, Troy. Are you seriously going to let go of Gabriella? Come on man, you love her. And you'll never know unless you tell her."

Troy suddenly stopped walking. "Chad, I've told you already. I love her, and I always will. But she doesn't love me back. So why reach for something that you'll never get even if you do try your hardest? It's okay man. I'll move on. Slowly, and painfully, but I'll get over her…eventually." He said, his voice full of sorrow.

_Okay. Whoever this Gabriella girl is, I'm going to make her life a living hell. Damn it. She is not going to get my __Troyikins__. Hell no. I, Melanie Green will never ever lose anything._

Chad patted his back. "Troy, just tell her. And if she rejects, she rejects. Don't go through all of the "What If" shit. Really. Just do it. Besides, I'm a hundred percent sure she feels the same way." Troy shook his head. I smiled inwardly.

"No Chad. I'm not risking our damn friendship, just to know how she feels. I know how she feels. She doesn't like me. So just drop it okay? DAMN IT! I'm not doing it. And that's final."

_Good Troy. That's right retreat. You're mine. Not that Gabriella girl's._

"Fine, but in the future, when you go through that phase, and you need someone to vent to, don't tell it to me. I don't want to be there to listen to my best friend regretting the decision that he made to not do something that should've been done. The decision, that I advised him to make." He said as he walked away fuming, leaving Troy standing there speechless.

_Wow. The afro guy was __soo__ mean to my Troy! __Argh__ I'm going to kill him later__ for making my man confused. Wait, he looks __kinda__ cute being confused. No Melanie. Focus!_

He was just standing there, deep in thought. Suddenly, he was heading my way. I quickly ran into an empty classroom. I peeked through the window and saw him walking away. I immediately followed him. He went here, and there. Turned a couple of times, and he went up an old stairway. Near the cafeteria. I carefully walked up the stairway, and looked for him. I saw him standing there, looking for something. Then he lifted up a pot of daisies, and smiled. He then went to the edge, and he just stood there, completely oblivious to the outside world. The bell rang, and he still seemed unfazed.

_I wonder what he's thinking about. Hmm, I have an idea._

I tiptoed down the stairs, and went to the empty classroom again. I took two textbooks, and tons of papers and fliers. I arranged them very loosely, so they would make a huge mess. I heard the next bell ringing.

_Hmm, that's the warning bell. I __gotta__ wait just a little longer._

I looked out the window, and everyone was rushing into their classes. A couple of minutes later, I went outside, and stood near the staircase, on the side that Troy's locker is located at. Then, I finally heard footsteps going down the stairs, so I started to walk, and boom. He knocked into me. I "accidentally" fell to the ground. I smiled inwardly. My plan is working so far. He then kneeled down to help me with the books and papers. I let him do all of the work, as I just pretended to pick some up. I could really care less.

"I am so sorry Mel. Are you okay?" he asked, his voice filled with sympathy.

"Yeah, I'm fine no worries Troy." I smirked and stood up. I was going to ask him, but then I spotted out of the corner of my eye, and I saw Chad, and the girl that was hugging him earlier, coming closer to us. Then I pretended to fall.

_Thank goodness for those acting classes I took._

"Mel?"

"Oww, my ankle. It hurts Troy." I said dramatically, as I stood up on one foot. When he kneeled down to check my ankle, the Chad, and that girl, walked right behind him, they looked at me, and I just smirked. Their faces were fuming.

_That'll show them. Troy's mine._

"It looks fine Melanie. Not swollen, not broken, nothing. Are you sure it hurts?" he asked as he stood up.

"Oh, nevermind. It feels fine now. Thanks Troy." I replied, and kissed my cheek. I took my "things", and skipped down the hallway.

_Okay. That didn't go as __planned.__ When he knocked me down, I was going to make him kiss me better! But no, that afro guy just had to appear. I didn't want to be seen as being needy and bitchy. Ugh, __Whatever.__ I could always make him kiss any day, eve__n tomorrow if I wanted to__. I'll just think of something else. Another plan. Oh well, __at least Chad and that girl saw us, and got mad, that was__ just a bonus._

I threw the textbooks, and fliers into the trash. I then went to my car, unlocked the doors, and got in.

_I am going to have __soo__ much fun with him._

I thought as I laughed menacingly, I put on the seatbelt, turned on the radio to hear Ashley Tisdale's song, Fabulous, starting. _Great._ It's my favorite song ever!

**_Its out with the old and in with the new,_**

**_ Goodbye clouds of Gray, hello skies of blue_**

**_ A dip in the pool, a trip to the spa_**

**_ Endless days in my chaise_**

**_ The whole world according to moi_**

**_ Excuse Me Thank You_**

**_ Iced tea imported from England,_**

**_ Lifeguards imported from Spain,_**

**_ Towels imported from Turkey,_**

**_ Turkey imported from Maine,_**

**_ We're gonna relax and renew,_**

**_ You, go, do!_**

**_ I want fabulous,_**

**_ That is my simple request,_**

**_ All things fabulous,_**

**_ Bigger and better and best,_**

**_ I need something inspiring to help me get along,_**

**_ I need a little fabulous is that so wrong?_**

**_ Fetch me my jimmy choo flip flops,_**

**_ Where is my pink prada tote?_**

**_ I need my tiffany hair band,_**

**_ And then I can go for a float._**

**_ A summer like never before_**

**_ I want more!_**

**_ She wants fabulous,_**

**_ That is her simple request,_**

**_ All things fabulous,_**

**_ Bigger and better and best,_**

**_ She needs something inspiring to help her get along,_**

**_ She needs a little fabulous is that so wrong?_**

**_ Fabulous pool, fabulous splash,_**

**_ Fabulous parties even fabulous trash,_**

**_ Fabulous fashion, fabulous bling,_**

**_ She's got to have fabulous everything._**

**_ Nothing to Discuss_**

**_ Everything's got to be perfect._**

**_ For me_**

**_ She wants fabulous,_**

**_ That is her simple request,_**

**_ All things fabulous,_**

**_ Bigger and better and best,_**

**_ She needs something inspiring to help her get along,_**

**_ She needs a little fabulous is that so wrong?_**

**_ This won't do, that's a bore,_**

**_ That's insulting, I need more!_**

**_ I need, I need,_**

**_ I need, I need,_**

**_ I need, I need_**

**_ I Need FABULOUS!_**

**_ Fabulous Hair, fabulous style,_**

**_ Fabulous eyes and that fabulous smile._**

**_ I like what I see,_**

**_ I like it a lot_**

**_ Is this absolutely fabulous?_**

**_ Fabulous, Fabulous, Fabulous?_**

**_ Absolutely... NOT!_**

I sang along to all of her parts, and I finally arrived to my mansion.

_Ahh. It's good to be stinking rich and spoiled.__  
_

**Boo. No cliffhanger this time. :(**

**I am really sorry about this short chapter. But like I said in the beginning****, I'm not going to have time for another chapter until a couple more days. So I tried my best to squeeze this in. Ugh. I have so much to do. It's so sad. ****Lol****. I'm kidding. But still.**

**So, Melanie's starting to appear earlier than I said right? Well, if any of you guys like Melanie, I'm sorry. She's not going to make another appearance until chapter 5. And that's a promise.**

**I was really disappointed on how this one turned out. It had no humor, it was short, and it was all Melanie. What'd you guys think of this chapter? Be honest, and not mean. :) ****Lol****. Yeah, review please. I'll probably update again on Monday, if not then Tuesday. I promise.**

**And remember, if you have any funny ideas you want Chad or Jason to do, just review and tell me. I'll put it in some of my next chapters. ****Because frankly, I'm starting to run out of afro jokes and I don't know what to do for Jason. :( If you must know, ****I'****m ****gonna**** credit you, ****so ****no worries.**

**Once again, sorry for any mistakes. I've stated my reasons already. Hah. :P **

**Damn. I still ****kinda**** ranted. That's so not cool. I'll try better next time. Have a nice weekend everyone! And onto the end of your finger exercises (scrolling. duh.)! ****Lol**** –Ilyilyx3**


	6. Jimmy's Rolling!

**I was going to post this earlier, but I had other things to do again. :P The girl hugging Chad**** that Melanie was talking about was Taylor. So Taylor and Chad saw t****he little s****cene. T****here will be cute little ****Troyella**** moments. In fa****ct, this chapter will have some****. Don't worry. This story will have tons of them. ****Also, do you guys want other couples' moments in the story too? If you don't know the pairings, check out the character bios. ****LucasGrabeelIsHott, ****I loved your idea, so I ****added it into this chapter! ****Thanks for the idea! Oh, a****nd let's make it that today in the story, is Friday. It fits into the weekend. :) And now, rant ****be**** gone! Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!  
**

**Who's That Girl**

**Chapter 4-**** Jimmy's Rolling!  
**

**Gabrie****lla's POV- (10**** minute**** before school ends)**

I'm sitting in homeroom right now. We always go back here on Fridays, for the end of the day. I have no idea why. It was the school's idea. Right now, Mrs. Darbus is ranting on about the importance of acting, singing, drama, basically everything that is involved in the theater.

_I should get my head back into the game. __Hehe.__ I heard__ Jack (__Coach Bolton)__ and Chad say that to Troy last week. They started to lecture him just because he missed the DGBBB basketball game they play weekly. It's usually held on Saturdays, from 9-12 in the morning. I remember the first time I__ saw that game. It was a great day.__  
_

_Flashback- (Ten years ago)_

_We started Kindergarten five months ago. Troy and __Chad became__ really close since the "Tragic Day"__ that__ Sharpay__ had taken out__ some__ his afro's __mighty soldiers.__(as__ Chad would put it.) They bonded by pl__aying basketball with Jack__. Every week, Chad would come over for about three hours, and they'd play. Two months after they had the basketball tradition going, Troy decided to name it, The D__A__GBBB basketball game. Chad always asked what the letters meant, but Troy never told him. Until the day, I came over to play. I knew that Mr. Bolton and Troy always played. (It was the same thing that happened, ever since he was old enough to play.) But I didn't know that Chad had joined them. _

_So I was walking over to their house, I was about to ring the doorbell, when I heard Chad yelling._

_"Hey! No fair Troy!__ You always win!__ You're too good!" he yelled._

_"It's not my fault!" Troy yelled back._

_I silently giggled to myself, and I went to the back door. It was really quiet, all I heard was the other door opening and closing. I got closer and pulled the string to open the door. The moment I walked through, I was hugged tightly by Chad._

_"What's wrong Chad?" I asked, while pulling away._

_"It's, it's, __it's__ HORRIBLE!" he yelled loudly._

_"What?!__ What is?" __I was starting to get worried._

_"T-__th__-that!" he exclaimed as he point over to where __Sharpay__ and Troy were. __I starting__ laughing._

_"You mean __Sh__arpay__? You know, she didn't mean to hurt the gold mane." I said__, and__ sympathetically__ patted his afro__ "Come on Chad." I started to lead him towards __Sharpay._

_"Gabi!" she yelled and ran towards me, engulfing me in a huge bear hug. I was losing air. __Until Troy came to the rescue._

_"__H-hi Brie.__Hey __Shar__, don't you have something to say to __Chaddie__ over there?" he asked while pointing to Chad. __I mouthed thanks to him. He nodded, and got closer to me. __Sharpay__ scoffed, and let go of me. She then walked up to a cowering Chad. She put her arm on his shoulder, only to __have him wince, and back away. While Troy snaked his arm around me, as we were laughing at Chad's fear._

_"Don't! The mane__'s not happy with you, you miss __meany__ bossy Barbie girl! And neither am I!" Chad said. __Sharpay__ was about to blow. Her face etched with anger. Chad was starting to regret what he just said. Until __Sharpay__ unexpectedly got closer to him, and hugged him. _

_"You're funny. I'm not bossy__ or mean__. But I do love __barbie's__! So I'm taking__ that as a __commpy__ment__ Oh! __And sorry but the hair thing.__ You just ran too fast! Like boom!__" She exclaimed__ making hand movements__ "I also LOVE your hair. It's so fluffy and cool!" Soon, the two were wrapped into a conversation of how cool Chad's afro was, and __Sharpay's__ amazing talent on fast running in heels. They were so distracted that they didn't realize Troy and I were in out own conversation._

_"Hey Troy?"__ I whispered._

_"Yeah__?" he replied, also whispering._

_"Do you think they'd ever stop talking?"_

_"__Nahh__. Do you __wanna__ know a secret?_

_I giggled. "Okay. What?"_

_"You know how I told you that my daddy and I call our basketball games D__A__GBBB?"_

_I nodded. __"Yeah?"_

_"The initials stand for; __Danforth__ Always Gets Bolted By __Boltons__."_

_He and I started lau__ghing incessantly. I think Chad heard him, because Troy was__ push__ed really hard__, and he landed on top of me. We were staring at e__ach__ other for a while. __We were completely o__blivious of the outside w__orld. U__ntil Chad threw a basketball at Troy's hea__d, which tipped his head__ down, a__nd made him kiss the tip of my nose, a little lower, he would've kissed my lips__. After that, we both blushed, and got off of each other._

_"Hah! That'll teach you." Chad said, as he grabbed another basketball, and shot it through the net, making a swish sound. __"__Yay! __My very first basket without Uncle Jack__y__'s help!"__ He then looked at the basketball he was holding, and patted it gently. "You're my new good luck charm. I'm going to keep you, and love you, and call you Jimmy!"_

_Troy, __Sharpay__, and I started laughing._

_"Jimmy crack __corn,__ and I don't care!" Troy sang loudly._

_We were laughing even harder at the sound of a commercial theme._

_"What? I don't get it." Chad said._

_Sharpay__ then whacked him on the head, and he fell on the glass, on top of Jimmy. He screamed when he felt Jimmy deflating._

_"No!! Jimmy! Don't go! I need you!!!" Chad was almost in tears, until Jack came out._

_"Chad, chill.__ I'll just pump some air into the basketball." He said, picking up the basketball._

_"You mean Jimmy." Chad corrected._

_"__Uhh__, okay?" He looked at me strangely, and I just shrugged. "I'll go pump some air into __**Jimmy **____then__." Jack said, and went inside the garage, with Chad following._

___"So, Brie, __Shar__, what__ do you girls __wanna__ do?" Troy asked__. Sharpay__ shrugged, and both of their attentions, were focused on me._

___"I __dunno__. How about this?"__ I tagged him, and said, "You're__ it!" __Sharpay__ and__ I ran for it._

___End Flashback_

I was brought out of my reverie, when the bell rang. At that moment, my class was really noisy. Mostly everyone was out of their seats until Mrs. Darbus blew up.

"SIT! I did not excuse you children yet!" Mrs. Darbus yelled. Everyone quietly took their seats again. "Now, where was I? Ahh, now remember everyone. Life is _nothing_ with the theater. Remember. Without broadway, and musicales, we are _nothing_." She said emphasizing nothing.

___Really.__ Could she get any creepier?_

At that, everyone was rushing out of the room, like the building was on fire. A couple of people, in addition to the cheerleading, and decathlon team, all came up to me and said "Bye." or, "Have a good weekend Gabs!" something along those phrases. I just sat there, and waved to them, and I occasionally said "you too." Soon, the room was completely vacant, except for me. I usually took my time to gather everything. Looking up at the clock, I decided that it should've been enough time for the hallways to be cleared.

I went outside, and I saw the rest of my friends waiting for me. I silently went over to Jason, who hadn't noticed I was there, and I playfully shoved him into Chad. Chad then dropped Jimmy. And there it went, rolling down the hall.

"Jimmy! NOOO! Come back here! Chaddie didn't mean to drop you!" he yelled. Jimmy finally stopped rolling when it slammed into the lockers.

"Damn it! Jimmy! Don't leave me!!" Chad yelled as he dramatically threw his hand out, and slowly got onto the floor.

"YOU!" Chad yelled, and pointed to Jason, "G-go g-g-get my-aii Jimmy back!!!" he then starting to sob.

___Wow. I've never seen Chad like this._

I kneeled down beside him, and patted his back.

"Chadster, don't worry. Jim jim will be fine." I assured him. Chad was incoherently mumbling something.

I looked up to see Jason then looked at Sharpay, then Zeke, and to Troy, who all shrugged, and his attention was now on me, I simply nodded my head towards the basketball. "Hurry." I mouthed. Then, Jason started to run down the hall, and towards Jimmy, who was now rolling again. Just when Jason was about to pick up Jimmy, another pair of hands grabbed it.

**Jason's POV- (Three minutes earlier.)**

Darbus finally let the class out. I walked out of class with Troy, Chad, and Zeke. We were standing out in the halls next to the girls. It's what we always did on Fridays. We'd all meet at Gabby's locker, for each other, then we'd hit the park. Or theaters, whatever was cool to us at the time. Right now, Zeke is talking to Sharpay about how she want him to make her a hot pink meal. While Taylor is telling Chad how unhealthy it is to carry around a basketball 24/7.

___That's not that long. It's only 24 seconds out of every 7 minutes__..Right?_

Troy and Kelsi are talking about the next musical.

___Hmm, __Kelsi__ looks really pretty today. Hmm, I smell strawberries. She looks so h-_

Chad interrupted my thoughts when he asked for my opinion about Jimmy.

"Don't you think Jimmy would get lonely if I didn't bring him with me all of the time?" he asked.

"Who's Jimmy? Ooh! When can I meet him? I'm so excited now!" I exclaimed, while my eyes lit up.

"Jimmy, is my buddy right here." He said proudly.

"Sorry to break it to you pal, but my name's Ja-son." I said slowly for him.

"What? No I mean-" I suddenly felt someone pushing me, and I accidentally bumped into Chad. He dropped the basketball onto the floor, it went rolling all over the place.

"Jimmy! NOOO! Come back here! Chaddie didn't mean to drop you!" he yelled. Jimmy finally stopped rolling when it slammed into the lockers.

___Ohh__ I get it now. Jimmy's the basketball. Wow. Seriously, who names a basketball? That's just abnormal._

"Damn it! Jimmy! Don't leave me!!" Chad yelled as he dramatically threw his hand out, and slowly got onto the floor.

"YOU!" Chad yelled, and pointed, and glared at me.

___I'm scared now. Chad can get pretty scary at times.  
_

"G-go g-g-get my-aii Jimmy back!!!" he then starting to sob.

___Whoa. Someone's a little moody today. Wonder if he's __pmsing._

Gabriella then kneeled down beside him, and patted his back.

"Chadster, don't worry. Jim jim will be fine." she assured him. Chad incoherently mumbled something.

I was searching for answers on what to do, so I looked at Sharpay, then Zeke, and to Troy, who all shrugged, and my eyes were now on Gabi, she simply nodded my head towards the basketball, and mouthed, "Hurry." I started to run down the hall, and towards Jimmy, who was now rolling again. Just when I was about to pick it up, another pair of hands grabbed it. I looked up to see Mrs. Darbus standing there.

"Mr. Cross, what are you doing? You know that basketballs are prohibited from being on school grounds unless they're on the basketball field, or in your arms." She stated.

"Yeah, yeah. I know Mrs. Darbus. But Jimmy's not mine. It's Chad's. Gabriella pushed me into him, and he dropped it. He got all dramatic on us, and they made me run over here to get it. And here we are now." I said proudly. She raised her eyebrows.

"Jimmy? Who's Jimmy? If I find that and your basketball posse are beating up a freshman then-" I cut her off immediately.

"Darbus, I mean your honor, Jimmy is that basketball Chad's always carrying around. He's not some freshman."

___God,__ and they call me stupid. Really, ME!_

"I see. Well, here. Tell him and your posse to keep their basketballs out of my theater! No GO HOME!" she yelled.

I got really scared, so I just grabbed Jimmy, and ran for my life. I was just about to turn a corner, when I saw everyone laughing, except Chad of course. He was still bawling. I threw Jimmy at Chad's head, and it stuck!

"Jimmy!" Chad yelled, and grabbed it off his head, and started cradling it.

"You okay little one? Whoo, I'm never ever leaving you again. I'll even take you into the shower if I need to." He cooed, and tried pinching the basketball.

With that, everyone was staring weirdly at Chad and his little buddy.

Chad finally noticed that all eyes were on him, and he stared blankly at everyone. "What?!? He's my baby." He said, while patting Jimmy.

"Bets on Chad getting dropped while he was a baby, say aye." I whispered to the gang.

"Aye!" Troy, Zeke, Sharpay, and Ryan said.

"Okay. Now, what about Mrs. Danforth being on drugs, or drinking while having Chad in her stomach?" I asked.

"Aye!" Gabriella, Taylor, Kelsi, and I said.

"Hey. What are you guys whispering about?" Chad asked. Everyone jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Nothing!" Troy replied. "Come on guys let's go." Troy then put his arm around Gabriella's waist, and leaded her out the doors of East High. They were then followed by Sharpay and Zeke holding hands, Chad and Taylor kissing, with Jimmy in the middle, Ryan, Kelsi, and me, talking about the importance of pink jelly in a guy's life.

**Gabriella's**** POV- (10 minutes later, at the park)**

We just barely arrived at the park. Everyone's just relaxing and talking. About the weirdest things too. For example, Chad's talking to Jimmy, and he keeps on asking about its' adventure in the hallway, and if Darbus' hands were cold, hot, warm, or soft.

___Dear God. Did Chad really get hit on the head when he was a baby?_

Troy and Jason are talking about, you guessed it, pink jelly, again. Sharpay and Taylor are talking about a mega shopping spree/sleepover next week. Wait. That's not weird. Ryan and Zeke are talking about how everyone's foot is shaped like pears. Kelsi and I, are just sitting, and looking around.

Everyone was pretty wrapped up in their conversations, until Chad tagged Sharpay, and called a game of Tag.

Sharpay took of her heels, and ran after Troy, and tagged him. Troy stopped running, and everyone sprinted in different directions. When our eyes met, I saw that he had this evil glint in his eye. I knew what was coming next, he was going to chase me. I started for the hill, but before I even went past the bench, he threw his arms around me, and spun me around. I was giggling very loudly, and he was just laughing.

"Stop it Troy! I'm getting dizzy!" I yelled. I was getting dizzier by the second.

"Okay, but you have to give me something."

"And that is?" I asked.

"A favor. I'll think about what I want. You just have to agree you'll do it later on." He said.

"Fine! I promise." I answered hesitantly.

___I hope it's nothing embarrassing._

He finally let me down, and I tagged him.

"You're it…again!" I immediately ran for it. It took him a while to register what had happened, he finally took off after me. "Hey! No fair! I wasn't ready."

I looked back, and simply stuck my tongue out at him. Ten minutes later, we finally realized that we were the only ones playing. The others all disappeared. We ran back up the hill to see some very disturbing sights. Everyone was making out with each other. Except for Kelsi in Jason who looked like they were having a staring contest. I sighed.

"Why do we have to have such gross, and lovey dovey friends?" I asked Troy. He shrugged.

"Hey, at least we're not like that. Well, actually I wouldn't really mind." His eyes widened once he realized what he'd just said, his face then turned into a bright crimson red. I blushed a little, so I looked away so it wouldn't have been so obvious. Before I could say anything, he spoke again.

"I…I-umm. I meant that I-uhh-don't think we will ever be like that-I mean we might-not that I don't want to-I hope to-but… umm- Hey, wanna a choco cookie? I bet Zeke brought some." He said while digging through Zeke's bag. "Err, here we are! Eat up!" He took two cookies out, and then shuved one cookie into my mouth and the other in his, and looked away nervously. I looked the other way, while chewing on my cookie.

___Okay… That was weird. __Even if this is-WAIT.__ Did Troy just say he hoped that we'll be like that? God, I hope so. Maybe the others were right. He does like me back? __Ehh__, what am I thinking?! He's my best friend. __But what if that's what he's thinking?__ BLECH.__ I don't know anymore._

I looked back at Troy, to see him looking too. We both looked away awkwardly. There was this really thick tension in the air. I wish that it could've been like it was earlier. Just at that moment, he was about to say something, but Chad interrupted.

"Are those Zeke's cookies I smell? YUM! I want some." Chad said, and grabbed the whole bag, he started to pass it around.

**Five minutes later**

The tension was finally cleared between us. Everyone was just sitting around. Thankfully, nobody was making out with anyone. We all had our fair shares of Zeke's cookie. Chad and I both wanted another one, but there was only one cookie left. We couldn't decide who would get it, so we set it as fair game. I was thinking of ways to distract him, and get the cookie, I thought of a perfect one. The air was filled with silence, until he started to talk.

"You're going down Gabby." He said and pointed his index finger downward. I scoffed.

"Yeah, right Chaddie! Oh my gosh. Is that Corbin Bleu over there?!?" I said as I pointed to the other direction. He immediately looked over to the direction where I was pointing at, and yelled "Where? Where? Corbin! Where are you man?" I then knocked Jimmy out of his arms, and it went rolling down the hill. Chad finally noticed Jimmy rolling down the hill.

"Crap!! Jimmy! It's not my fault! I'm sorry! It's Gabi, who hates you! Not me!" He ran after it. By then, everyone was laughing soo hard. When Chad was out of the distance, I took the cookie.

"I win! Yay!!!" I yelled, throw my arms in the air. Everyone starting to laugh.

"Chad is soo gullible." Sharpay said. Taylor playfully nudged her.

"Hey that's my boyfriend you're talking about." She said. Sharpay laughed again, and stuck her tongue out at her. Taylor then sighed in defeat.

I was just about to bite the cookie I had won, but Troy tapped me with his foot just before it came in contact with my mouth.

"Yessss Troy? I'm about to eat here."

"Brieeee. Share." Troy whined.

"No! If you wanted it, you should've fought Chad for it." I said. I was about to pop the cookie into my mouth, but Troy tapped me again, and gave me the puppy eyes, and pout.

___Damn the person who taught him to do that._

"Uggh, fine!" I broke the cookie in half, and stretched my hand out for him to take it. But he shook his head. I raised my eyebrows.

"Ahh." He said, while opening his mouth.

"No."

"Brieeeeeeeeee." he said streching out the e sound.

"Okay, okay. But you owe me Bolton." I said. I was about to put it in his mouth, but I decided to throw it instead. I threw the cookie in his mouth, but I missed. And it hit his nose.

"Hey!"

I started popped my half of the cookie in my mouth, and laughed.

"Ha ha It's all your fault Troy. Not mine, you lazy bum." I said in between laughs.

"Oh, you're going to get it." He exclaimed, and started towards me. I got up, and started running down the hill, with him trailing me. I was too caught up on outrunning him that I didn't notice Chad, and I bumped into him, causing him to drop Jimmy again.

"Damn! Gabby! Stop making me drop Jimmy! He said one more time, and he's leaving me for Mrs. Darbus! He says she has really soft hands!!" Chad shouted as he ran to get Jimmy from the pond. I just continued to laugh, and run, until I felt something heavy on me, causing me to fall. It was Troy. He tackled me, and we went rolling down the rest of the hill, laughing. We finally stopped. Troy was on top of me, our lips were just mere centimeters apart, and both of us were leaning in…

**GASP. Will Troy and Gabriella ****finally ****kiss**** or will someone interrupt them once again**

**How was this chapter? What'd you think? I didn't really like it that much. ****Ehh****, guess it's just me being a perfectionist. My friends are always telling me that I am, but I never believed them until now. Damn, I owe them twenty bucks. ****Lol. ****If you have any suggestions, ****questions, or ideas, feel**** free to tell me. I'm open to all types of ****critisms****. Just don't tell me to get a life, or anything mean like that. I**** do have one****, but I ****like**** to ****write this. :)**** I promise I'll post the next chapter up sooner than Wednesday, but sadly, I have school tomorrow. So it might be even later than that. Sorry. Adios & _Review_! **

**-Ilyilyx3**

**P.S. Again, sorry for any mistakes. Too busy to recheck it after uploading it. :P **


	7. Confrontations

**Sorry for the ****long ****wait! ****It took longer than I thought it would. I started school on Tuesday, and I have all honors, so the homework's really piling up and I have the extra curriculums to worry about too. It'****s**** ughhh****. Lol.**** But, I'll ****make the next chapter longer**** for making you wait. ****No worries. ****Anyway, I promised you drama and Melanie in the fifth chapter, so here you go! E****njoy. **

**Who's That Girl**

**Chapter 5-**** Confrontations  
**

**Gabi's POV-**

Troy was on top of me, our lips were just mere centimeters apart, and both of us were leaning in, our lips barely came in contact with each other, when someone threw Jimmy at Troy's head, moving his lips from mine, to my chin. He immediately got off of me, both cheeks all red. We both sat up when we saw Jason waving his arms at us.

"Troy! Gabi! Finally! I've been trying to get your attention forever!" he yelled, completely oblivious to what was happening. "You two are smart, what does 24/7 mean?" Troy sighed. "It means 24 hours a day. 7 days a week." I replied.

"Ohh. I thought it meant 24 sec-" before he could finish his sentence, Chad tackled him to the ground.

"Jason! I can't believe that you chucked Jimmy at Troy. You said you were going to dry him for me! When I get Jimmy back, you got some s'plaining to do to him." Chad said, shaking his head. He got off of him and looked at us, wide eyed. "What happened to you two lovebirds?"

"Nothing." We said at the same time.

"Whatever, I'll get it out you two later. Now, where's my wittle guy?" He asked. Troy and I started laughing, and pointed the pond. Where Jimmy was floating out into the middle of the pond, ducks were starting to surround it. When Chad saw what we were pointing at, he went wide-eyed. "Damn it. Jason Alvin Cross, I am soo going to beat you up when I get back!" he said looking at Jason. He ran to the pond once again yelling, "Jimmy Gilbert Danforth! Have no fear, Chaddie's coming. I'll save you from those mean duckies." We were laughing hysterically at the sound of "Jimmy's" full name. Chad dived into the pool, and got Jimmy out of the pond safely.

By that time, everyone was crowding around us, and laughing at Chad's attachment to the basketball.

"I think he should get therapy." Jason said. Everyone continued, to laugh, and we all nodded at that.

"Or maybe a new basketball. Did you see Jimmy? It's so filthy!" Sharpay exclaimed. "But don't worry. I'll get him a hot pink one for his birthday in a month." She finished.

"Baby, not everything has to be hot pink. But, I do agree on the filthy thing." Zeke said. That earned him a playful smack on the arm from her.

"Duh Zekey." She said. Everyone started laughing hysterically.

"Be Quiet!!!!" Sharpay yelled. Everything then went dead silent. The only sounds that could heard was the wind blowing.

"Good. Now let's go before it get too late. Come on Zekey Poo. Toodles!" she waved, and pulled Zeke away.

"Poor guy." I said. The rest stifled giggles, and chuckles because we all knew that Sharpay has extra sensitive hearing.

After Sharpay and Zeke left, we were all just sitting around, talking about random things. It was getting dark, and everyone paired off, and walked to their own homes. Troy offered to walk me home, and I accepted.

"Did you have fun today Brie?" he asked.

"Yeah! It was great. Did you?" I replied.

"Of course I did!" he said. "Especially with you there." he mumbled under his breath.

_Wait, did he just say what I thought he said?_

"What?"

"Huh? Nothing! Umm, race you home!" he yelled, and ran off.

_That was weird. Oh well. It was Troy._

I then ran after him. It soon became a game of tag. It was really fun.

**Troy'****s POV- (9**** d****ays later)**

When I got home from the park that day, I was informed that we were going to go on a "business" trip to Los Angeles, California with Melanie's family.

_Flashback- (9 days ago)_

_We had just finished teasing Chad, and Jimmy. By the time we noticed that we had to leave, it was pitch dark outside. I walked Gabriella home, and I went inside of my house, to find my parents, Melanie, and her parents sitting, and talking quite comfortably in the living room._

_"Hey Mom, Dad, I'm home!" I yelled, walking into the living room. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw Melanie looking at me, weirdly._

_"Oh, Troy.__ You know Mr. and Mrs. Green, my __**bosses**__, and their daughter, Melanie." My mom said, emphasizing on bosses._

_"Y-yeah.__ Hello. If there's anything, I'll be in my room." I said, quickly trying to walking up the stairs to my room._

_"Stay Troy.__ We have some news for you." My dad stated. I stopped__ and walked backwards to where __I was earlier._

_"Yeah?"__ I asked curiously._

_"Well, the Greens are inviting us to go to LA. They're going on a business trip that requires me to go. And they thought it would be a good idea to invite us along. We're leaving for about a week."__ She said._

_"But-" I started, my dad cut me off._

_"No buts. We've already excused you from school, you're coming with us, along with Melanie, and your dad's going to watch Daniel. So you two will have all of the time to yourselves." My mom stated. Melanie's eyes lit up, and she started to squeal, while I chuckled nervously._

_End Flashback._

I was really bummed out when I heard that I had to miss school to go with them. But it was fun anyway. There wasn't really a business thing going on. Our parents just wanted us to get together. Surprisingly it worked. They made Melanie and me sleep in the same hotel room. For the whole week, she showed a different side of her to me. At first, she was really annoying, and I just wanted to strangle her. But after the second day, it was like someone else took her place. She became sweet, kind, and gentle. On the last day of the trip, Melanie kissed me, and I just asked her out on an impulse. I have no idea why I did though. Maybe it was because I want to get over Brie, but whatever the reason, I already did it.

Today, is Sunday. The day that we finally came back to Albuquerque. The rest of the gang were really excited that I'm back now. They all missed me, at least that's what they told me. I'm going to meet them at the Peanut Diner, where we all work at. But on Sunday's we usually hang out there. I'm walking down the street right now. I have to walk about one more block before I get there. I can't wait to see everyone again. I'm going to introduce them to Melanie. I wonder what they'll think.

I finally arrived, and I went inside. I was looking around for the others until I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. I took my phone out of my pocket, and flipped it open.

_"Hey __Troyie_

_I'm going to be late to meet your friends._

_Sorry. __But my parents are holding me up._

_It sucks big time! Lol. I__ love you. 3  
_

_-__Mellie__."_

I chuckled as I closed my phone, and put it back in my pocket. It seems like whenever she's late, her parents are always holding her up.

"What'cha laughing at? I didn't even bring Jimmy today." I heard a very familiar say behind me. I turned around, and I was face to face with Chad.

"Hey Man!" I exclaimed, and did our secret handshake with him.

"Dude! Where have you been? Jimmy, and the mane were asking for you." He stated, while chuckling.

"Hah. Well, long story man. Tell you and the rest later. Is everyone here?" I asked, looking around.

"They're over…." He started, as he looked around. "There!" he exclaimed as he pointed to the back. I turned around, and saw everyone, except Brie.

"Where's Brie?"

"She said she's going to be late. I have no idea why though." He answered.

"Oh. Okay. Well, let's get going then. I can't wait to see the rest." I said as I started to walk over to the others.

"Hey Guys! Afro Man found something!" Chad sang off-key. Everyone started to laugh, and chuckle. I took that as my cue. I stood up from the bush I was hiding behind, and yelled,

"Anyone miss me?" I was then greeted with "Troy!'s" and "Hey Man!'s". And I was wrapped into huge bear hugs from all of the girls. Once everyone settled down I felt someone tapping on my back. I turned around and I saw Melanie standing there smiling.

"Hey Mellie!" I said. She immediately kissed me, as she wrapped her arms around my neck. I kissed back, snaking my arms around her waist. I completely forgot about everyone else, until someone cleared their throat. I unwrapped myself from the kiss and turned back to the rest. My cheeks were burning up. I cleared my throat a little.

"Umm. Okay everyone, I'd like you to meet my new girlfriend, Melanie." I stated, as Melanie started to wave her hand.

"Nice to meet you all. I've heard tons about all of you." She said, smiling. Everyone else was in a state of shock. Except of Taylor and Chad, who were glaring at me. Nobody said anything. Until Taylor stood up.

"Hi, Melanie. Nice to meet you too. Not to be rude or anything, but we definitely haven't heard anything about you." Taylor said, shaking head. Melanie looked at me confused, as she sat down. I sat down next to her, my arm around her waist.

"Oh, well. Here, I'll tell you about myself. I'm Melanie Green." She said. Sharpay and Taylor gasped.

"You mean Melanie Green, daughter of Thomas Green, the richest man in Albuquerque?" Sharpay asked.

"Umm, yeah. Anyway, I went with Troy on the trip last week. With our parents, and the silliest thing happened! We were put in the same hotel room…" After that, I just kind of spaced out thinking about Brie.

_I wonder what she's doing, what she's wearing. I haven't seen her in a while. I miss her so much. Wait. Why am I thinking about her? I mean she's my best friend and all, but still. I'm thinking about her more than I do Melanie. That's scary. Hello? Melanie's my girlfriend__. Whatever.__  
_

**Taylor's POV- (10 minutes earlier)**

It's been 9 days since we've last seen Troy. He missed a week of school, and tons of new memories with the rest. Gabby's been kinda different ever since Troy left. I hope she'll get better now that he's back. We don't really know why he left all of a sudden. At least he's back though.

Right now, we're sitting at the Peanut Diner. Everyone's here except for Gabriella. She said she wanted to get a present for Troy. We're just waiting around. Chad, Jason, and Ryan are talking about baseball and basketball. _Typica__l__ jocks._

Sharpay, Zeke, and Kelsi are discussing Sharpay's addiction to hot pink. She says it's not an addiction, and it's just like Zeke liking baking, and Kelsi liking to compose music, and all of that stuff. _Ugh that gets __soo__ annoying after a while.__ I'm just glad I'm not in it._

And me? I'm just sitting here not talking to anyone. I'm deep in thought about these feelings. _I feel like something __bad's__ coming. I just don't know what. I told Gabriella about these feelings yesterday. But s__he just told me to shrug it off. It's a really strange and creepy. The last time I felt this way, was when I was six, and I found my grandpa dead in the living room. _

_I was upstairs asleep. The whole day, I was f__eeling weird__. I kept on tossing and turning, but I just couldn'__t sleep, u__ntil I heard a racket downstairs. I was scared, so I just left it. And I eventually fell asleep, but__ when I awoke again, the feeling was gone. I went downstairs, and I saw that my grandpa was on the ground, bleeding. Turns out that a burglar came in, and my grandpa saw him, and tried to stop him, but was killed instead._

I was brought out of my thoughts when I heard Chad talking.

"Hey Guys! Afro Man found something!" Chad sang off-key. Everyone started to laugh, and chuckle. As a familiar dirty blonde boy appeared.

"Anyone miss me?" he asked. The others all started to greet him "Troy!'s" and "Hey Man!'s". Sharpay, Kelsi, and I gave him a big bear hug. Once everyone settled down, I saw a blonde tapping on Troy's shoulder. He turned around and said, "Hey Mellie!"

She immediately kissed him, as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He kissed back, snaking his arms around her waist. I was purely shocked. "What the heck was that? I thought you said he loves Gabby!" I shouted/whispered to Chad. He just stared at me, with the same expression. "I. Have. No. Frigging. Clue." He paused, and looked at the blonde closely. "Wait. Isn't that the blonde bimbo he was flirting with like two weeks ago?" I gasped. He was right. My eyes went big. "And isn't that the blonde that smirked and glared at us as we walked by the hallway?" His eyes went big too. "I am so going to kill that bimbo. No girl's gonna glare and smirk at me." His clenched his fists together, until his knuckles were completely white. I unclenched his fists, and tangled them with my hands. "Stay calm Chad. We have to worry about Gabby. What's she gonna do when she see this?" I asked angrily. "Nothing. Because my little sister won't see this." He said, and cleared his throat.

Troy immediately unwrapped himself from the make out session, and turned back to the rest. His cheeks were burning up, as he cleared his throat.

"Umm. Okay everyone, I'd like you to meet my new girlfriend, Melanie." he stated, as Melanie started to wave her hand.

_I'm going to kill him._

"Nice to meet you all. I've heard tons about all of you." She said, smiling. Everyone else was in a state of shock. I was just glaring at him. Nobody said anything. I then stood up. Someone had to say something.

"Hi, Melanie. Nice to meet you too. Not to be rude or anything, but we definitely haven't heard anything about you." I said, with a fake happy tone in my voice. Melanie looked at him confused, as she sat down. He sat down next to her, her arm around his waist.

_Whore._

"Oh, well. Here, I'll tell you about myself. I'm Melanie Green." She said. Sharpay and I gasped. We've heard about her. She's very wealthy, even wealthier than Sharpay, and Gabriella combined.

"You mean Melanie Green, daughter of Thomas Green, the richest man in Albuquerque?" Sharpay asked. (**A/N**: This next part when there are the … are when Melanie's talking. It's just Taylor's coming in and out of her thoughts. She's not really paying full attention to Melanie.)

"Yup! The one and only. Anyway, I went with Troy on the trip last week… _That explains it._ …the silliest thing happened! We were put in the same hotel room… _Gross! Troy had to sleep with the bimbo. _On the last day of the trip, Troy kissed me and asked me out! _WHAT?! He knows this blonde for what a week, and asks her out. Wh__at was he thinking?_ ….Yeah, and now we're so in love!" she said.

"Oh! Well that's nice. Very..cute?" Sharpay said.

"Yep! I so love my Troyikins." Melanie said. Everyone started to snicker, as Troy blushed.

"What are you guys laughing at?" a certain brunette asked, smiling. I turned around to see Gabriella standing there.

"Gabi!" everyone exclaimed and hugged her.

"Guys..can't…breath..let..go." she managed to get out. Everyone immediately let go, as Troy came up to her.

"Hey Brie! I missed you." Troy said, as he pulled her into an even bigger hug.

"Aw, I missed you too Tbear." She replied, smirking. He abruptly let go of her, and glared at her.

"Hey. What did we say about the Tbear thing Gab-?" before he could finish, she put her hand on his mouth. He looked at her strangely.

"Uh, uh. You can't say it. You promised me." She replied. He took her hand off of his mouth, and started to tickle her. The only thing that was heard was Gabriella's incessant giggling. That is until Melanie cleared her throat.

Troy stopped, and looked at Melanie, he took a step back from Gabriella, and rubbed the back of his neck. While Gabriella looked around at everyone strangely.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Troyie! Who's this? Aren't you going to introduce her to your _girlfriend_?" Melanie asked in a whiny voice. Gabriella raised her eyebrow.

"Girlfriend? When did this happen?" She asked looking at Troy. He looked at Gabriella, and back to Melanie. He shook his head and sighed.

"Brie, this is my…girlfriend, Melanie. Melanie, this is my best friend of 17 years, Gabriella." He said.

"Oh! Hi Melanie. Nice to meet you." Gabriella said, as she extended her hand for Melanie to shake. Before Melanie could do anything, I spoke up.

"Sorry guys. But Troy, can we all have a word with you, outside?" I said, and motioned to the door. Everyone except me and Chad went out. Troy looked at me strangely, but followed the others anyway.

"Go ahead and talk to Melanie Gab, we'll be back soon." Chad said, also walking out with me.

**Nobody's POV-**

Melanie was now glaring intensely at Gabriella.

"So, how did you and Troy meet?" Gabriella asked nicely.

"Oh, we met a long time ago. We were separated, and now we're together. Got it?" Melanie said as she took a step closer to her.

"Okay. Umm, how'd you two get together?" Gabriella asked, backing away from Melanie.

"He kissed me and asked me out. Anything else you annoying bitch?" Melanie stated coldly.

"Excuse me?" Gabriella asked, anger rising inside of her.

"You heard me. Troy kissed _me_, and asked _me_, out. Not you. Bolton's mine. And _not _your's. So if you know what's good for you, you better stay away from him, you scrawny little bitch. You wouldn't even have a chance with him. He's too good for you. Got that, _Daniella_." Melanie stated with anger and hatred in her voice. She flipped her blonde hair back. She also smirked, because she knew that her name was Gabriella, and not Daniella. Melanie was only saying that to annoy her.

"Okay three things you fake Barbie doll, blonde bimbo of a bitch, plastic surgery addict. One, my name is _Gabriella Montez_, not that Daniella shit you just called me. Get it right. Two, what if I don't stay away from him? He's my best friend. And who the hell are you to tell me what to do? And three, you don't even know Troy. So you are in no place to say what's good enough for him or not." Gabriella replied, with the venom in her voice. She crossed her arms over her chest, and raised her eyebrows at her.

"Best friend? As if. He said nothing about you. He thinks your annoying too. I bet he doesn't even care about you." Melanie said, unconvincingly.

"Yeah right. And I have the biggest ego in the world." She started, and gasped. "Oops! Wait, that's so not possible. You've already sewn up that category. Along with fakest and bitchiest person in the whole world. I bet that your hair isn't even real." Melanie's mouth was wide open at Gabriella's comment. "That's right I said it. Deal with it."

"Why you damn mother fu-" Melanie started as she lifted up with her hand up. Before Melanie could hit her, Gabriella grabbed her arm, and twisted it. As Melanie's yelped.

"You were saying, Mel?" Gabriella asked in a fakely sweet voice.

"Gabriella?!? Let go of Melanie. NOW!" someone yelled.

**Oh my god! Who yelled? Eh, I don't know either. Don't ask. I haven't written the next chapter yet. ****:P**

**That was really hard to write. Like I said, I love ****Troyella****! Not ****TroyOC****. It's ****blech****. Lol****. I just noticed that I haven't been putting any scenes from my trailer into my story. Oops. I'll try to put more of them in. ****Hope you enjoyed it. Tell me your opinions! I wanna hear from you guys. ****I'll post up the next chapter when I get at least ten reviews or more. That way, I'll get more time to write it, and edit it. ****Again, sorry for the**** wait.**** :( Don't blame me, blame scho****ol. ****:P**** Adios & **_**Review**_

**-Ilyilyx3**

** P.S. Sorry for any mistakes. Again! Lol. :)  
**


	8. Changes

**Disc****laimer: I own nothing except tiny**** a part of the plot, and the Evil Witch. Oops! I meant Melanie. ;)**

**Thanks for the reviews everyone. I know, I know.**** I used to update daily, and now,**** I'm starting to take my sweet time**** on updating. But I have good reasons!**** Okay, one reason. But it's pretty important, school! ****Lol.**** I'll try to write and post these chapters faster. Wish me luck! ****Haha.**** Hope you****'ll**** like this chapter. Enjoy!**

**Who's That Girl**

**Chapter 6- ****Changes**

**Troy's POV- (A couple of minutes earlier)**

The others just told me to follow them outside. They are acting very weird today. I went outside walking behind Ryan, Kelsi, Jason, Sharpay, and Zeke. Following behind me, were Chad and Taylor, leaving Melanie and Gabriella to talk alone.

_I__ hope that they get a__long. Maybe I shouldn't have been tickling Gabriella, and stopping a__bruptly. I seriously pray that Melanie doesn't hurt Gabriella or anything. I've seen Melanie mad, and it's NOT pretty.__ Seri-_

I was brought out of my thoughts by a slap on the arm. I winced.

"What?!? Oh, and that hurt by the way.. Sharpay!" I said glaring at Sharpay. All she did was stick her tongue out at me. "You were spacing out. Duh!" she stated. I was about to reply, but Taylor interrupted me.

"Not the point, but Troy. What was with _her_?" Taylor said angrily.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You know what we mean dude." Chad answered. "Two weeks ago, you were all lovey dovey with Gabriella, and now you have a new girlfriend? Dude she seems like such a whore! Did you guys see how she just went up and kissed Troy. Right in front of us. Hello?!? Gross much?"

"Well-" I started, but was cut off by Kelsi.

"Troy, are you trying to get over Gabi or something? If you are, then it's just plain mean to use Melanie like that."

"Yeah Troy. Besides, don't you think that Gabriella's hurt? You've been flirting with her constantly." Zeke stated.

"Wait, why would Troy flirt with Gabriella if he loves Melanie?" Jason asked. I sighed. He was never the smart one in the group.

"Shh, Jason." Kelsi said, as she put her hand on his mouth before he could say anything else.

"What are you guys trying to say?" I asked.

"Are you that dense? Hello?! Earth to Troy! What happened during those nine days? What did that bitch do to you? Did she put you under some stupid spell?" Sharpay asked, raising voice.

"One, would you not call her a bitch? Two, nothing happened. My feeling just changed. Get over it. You know what, you guys are supposed to be my friends. Would you just lay off?!?" With that, I just stomped off back into the diner looking for Melanie, and Gabriella.

_Hopefully Bri__e accepts Melanie. __Unlike my __other __so-called __fri__-._

I was pulled out of my thoughts by Brie's voice.

(A/N: Next part with the dialogue is just like the last chapter. Troy spacing in and out.)

"Okay three things you fake Barbie doll, blonde bimbo of a bitch, plastic surgery addict…" She said.

_Or not.__God.__ What happened? When did Brie get so __angry and __mean?_

"…Get it right. Two, what if I don't stay away from him? He's my best friend. And who the hell are you to tell me what to do?..."

_Seriously, I need to know what happened. But I can't just go and ask. I'll look so stupid. Plus, they'll get mad at me if they found out I was eavesdropping on their conversation. And I seriously don't need two angry girls mad at me._

"…Yeah right. And I have the biggest ego in the world." She started, and gasped. "Oops! Wait, that's so not possible. You've already sewn up that category. Along with fakest and bitchiest person in the whole world. I bet that your hair isn't even real." Melanie's mouth was wide open at Gabriella's comment. "That's right I said it. Deal with it."

_Is that really Brie talking out there? I've never heard her talking or yelling like __that. Geez, when did she get __so-_

I was once again brought out of my thoughts, but this time by Melanie's yelp. I looked back up to them, to see Gabriella twisting Melanie's arm, and it looked like she was going to rip it off.

"You were saying, Mel?" Gabriella asked in a fakely sweet voice. I couldn't believe it. My best friends are all ganging up on my new girlfriend. I couldn't take it anymore. I jumped out from behind the bush, and started towards them.

"Gabriella?!? Let go of Melanie. NOW!" I yelled, with clear anger in my voice.

**Nobody's POV-**

Once Melanie saw Troy, her angered face turned into a sad, and pained face. She started to wince, and fake tears were streaming down her face. As Gabriella, anger just turned into pure shock. She immediately let go of Melanie's arm. Troy then ran up to the two girls, and helped Melanie up.

"Brie! What the heck were you doing to my girlfriend?" he asked.

"Nothing! I was just defending myself." Gabriella replied.

"From what?!? I was standing right there!" Tory replied, pointing over to where he once stood, eavesdropping on them. "And from what I could tell, you were yelling at her. Calling her a blonde bimbo, and then attacking her!"

"That's it Troy! From what you heard! I bet you were just spacing out in between and you didn't hear anything that she said! She was yelling at me! All I did was try to make conversation, then she just blew up on me. And just about now, she tried to hit me, that's exactly why I had her arm twisted!" Gabriella yelled.

"It's a lie Troyie!" Melanie said in an innocent voice. "After you and your friends left Gabriella told me that she's going to steal you away from me. I argued with her, and that's when she started to yell at me, and call me names. And out of the blue, she just grabbed my arm, and twisted it. I'm scared Troy. She's so violent!" she finished, pouting.

Troy was trying to process all of this information into his head. Gabriella was right he did space out in between their conversation. He didn't hear the whole thing. But he didn't know who to believe. He was torn in between two very important people in his life. Should he believe his best friend of 17 years, or his current girlfriend of two days? From what he heard behind the bush, both stories could be true. But there was something in his gut that told him to believe Melanie over Gabriella. And so he did.

"Whatever. Let's just get out of here Mellie. Nice seeing you Gabriella. Just tell the others that me and my _girlfriend_ are leaving early. And next time, please don't threaten her, or hurt her." Troy said coldly, as he took Melanie's hand and walked away. He was too preoccupied on walking ignoring his friends, who were walking in at the time, to see that Melanie was smirking, and glaring at the others.

Ryan, Zeke, Sharpay, Kelsi, Jason, Taylor, and Chad walk back to wear Troy last stood, to find Gabriella close to tears. But she was holding them back. The group formed a circle, with Gabriella in the middle, as Taylor and Chad went up to comfort their friend.

"Are you okay Gabi?" Taylor asked softly.

"Yeah Gab. Just tell us. I swear if Troy did anything to hurt you, Jimmy and I will personally murder him." Chad said, trying to lighten up the mood. Gabriella simply sighed.

"Do you all have time? It's kind of a long story." She said quietly. Everyone responded with nods.

"Go ahead Gabi, we're all here for you." Sharpay said.

"When you guys went outside to talk with Troy, I was trying to talk to Melanie to make her feel more comfortable, and plus I wanted to know how they got together." She started. "I was just trying to be nice to her, and after that she got all moody, telling me to stay away from Troy. So I called her a fake Barbie doll, blonde bimbo of a bitch, plastic surgery addict, and other things." Gabriella paused at looked up at the rest. They all nodded to continue.

"Then she lifted her arm up to hit me, I grabbed it, and twisted it so she wouldn't be able to move. And all of a sudden Troy jumps out of now where, and he yells at me. I told him what happened, and Melanie made up a fake lie." She paused for a little bit, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

"She even said that I was very violent, and she was scared of me. And guess what? He believed her. That brings us here. He walks out with her, and telling me to remind you guys to lay off of him and his new girlfriend." She finished. By then, everyone was fuming mad. Nobody could grasp the concept that Troy Bolton believed this blonde over their little sister…

**Melanie's POV- (A week later)**

I'm sitting at home, content, about how well the plan's going so far. I was about to pick up my cell phone to call Troy, but it rang instead. I looked at the screen, and it read Stacy calling. I smiled inwardly. Stacy's been my best friend since kindergarten. She understands me the most out of everyone. I picked up my phone, and answered it.

"Hey Stace!" I exclaimed.

"Chello Mello." She answered laughing. "What's up Mel?"

"Ahh, same same. Just working on my diabolical plan."

"Still? I thought he asked you out already."

"He did. But now, I'm working on making his crush's life bad." I told her.

"Really? How come?" she asked. I laughed quietly.

"I kinda wanted to try out my evil skills. Hah, I was even going to let it go when he asked me out. But then she bruised my hand, and broke a nail! Now, I'm just going to make her life hell. That way there will be no chance of her taking him from me." I said.

"Woahh. Evil much Mel?"

"Yeah, I know." I answered flatly. She sighed.

"So, how's that going then?"

I laughed as I started to explain to her what had happened at the diner.

"Well, it's been a week since that, and my plan's going great. I've gotten Troy wrapped around my finger. He has his complete trust in me now. Too bad he didn't believe that her. She was telling the truth." I laughed.

"What's your next step step then Mel?" She asked.

"Simple. I've just gotta convince Troy and his friends that Gabriella's not the girl that they think they know, and boom. I'm gonna use my money to do the rest." I answered.

"Don't they hate you already? How are you going to do that?"

"Yeah, but since I'm going out with Troy, he convinced them to be nice to me. So I'm trying to be nice back. I'm slowly gaining their trust. All except for her. She's still hostile around me. But whatever. And the money part's self explanatory." I said.

"How are you going to make them think of her differently?" she asked curiously. I sighed.

_I wonder what Troy's doing right now. __Probably basketball?__Right.__ Note to self: get Troy off the basketball team._

"Mel? You still there?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry Stace. Kinda spaced out there." I replied.

"Oh. Okay. So answer the question Mellie Bellie!" she exclaimed laughing. I laughed along with her at the sound of another crazy nickname she gave me.

"Back to the question, Melanie Green, what are you going to do next?" she asked in an announcer voice.

"Well, Miss Stacey Harley, I'm going to use my connections, and make Gabriella Montez's life a living hell. I am going to have soo much fun!" I replied laughing.

**Gabriella's POV- (The Next Day)**

I'm on my break from work right now, I'm just sitting down at one of the free booths, staring out of the window. It's been a week since my 'face-off' with Melanie. After I told everyone what happened that night, everyone had been on alert for any trouble she might cause us. So far, nothing. She's been really nice lately. She hangs out with us a lot. All of the others were starting to let their guards down, but I just can't help but feel like something's coming.

I looked down at my hands. I don't why, but I've kind of been depressed lately. I have nothing to be sad about, but yet I am. I looked up through the window again. I sighed at the sight in front of me. It was Troy and Melanie running around, both laughing. It looked like us two weeks ago, at the park, all before she came along. I sighed again.

Last Friday, after I went out of homeroom, I saw the whole gang standing at my locker, as usual. But Melanie was there too. Our weekly trip at the park was weird. Nothing felt the same anymore. Even though we did just did all of the things that we'd normally do. It was awkward. I felt like the third wheel the whole time. It seemed like everyone was paired up. Whether it was for pigging out on Zeke's baking, playing tag, or just plain star gazing. I had never felt so out of place bef-.

"Gabby.. Gabs? Gabriella!"

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I felt someone nudging me. I turned my head around to see Sharpay standing there, with a worried expression on her faces.

"What?!" I yelled. I was starting to get annoyed.

_Why can't she just leave me alone?_

"Go tell him your feelings. It'll make things better Gabs." Sharpay said sympathetically. I raised my eyebrows and looked at her strangely. I shook my head.

"No. Are you crazy Shar? If I tell him that, then he'll think what Melanie said was true, and then, our friendship with break apart even more." I replied.

"How did it already break apart?" Sharpay asked.

"What!?! Haven't you seen a thing? This past week, he's been avoiding me. And you are too wrapped up in hanging out with the stuck up Melanie to notice! It's always, "give it a rest Gab", "she's nice now", or "I doubt that she did that at the diner". You are too self-obsorbed with yourself to care about anyone else. I swear Sharpay, ever since we the 8th grade, you've changed for the worse!" I yelled, and walked away angrily before she could say anything. I walked out of the diner, not paying attention to anything or anyone in my way. In doing so, I bumped a couple of people, including Troy and Melanie, who were walking in.

"Watch it!" I yelled, as I ran to the park, with a tear slowly making its way down my face.

I probably ran a mile or two. Since the park was far from the diner. I kept on running, until I finally got to the park, I sighed out of relief. I started to slow down, and soon, I walked on the path, that circled all of the big trees. My legs were starting to feel tired, so I sat down on the nearest bench, which happen to be near the park's playground. I looked at all of the children running around playing. I smiled it reminded me of all the times the others and I would come here. I smiled slightly as I reminisced all of the old memories my friends and I had made long ago.

"Why can't life be as simple as it used to be?" I asked no one in particular. My voice was breaking, as my eyes were filled with tears.

"Maybe it's because life's full of changes, Gabriella. Whether they're just simple ones, or the extremely complex ones, you've got to face them all." I lifted my head up to see who was talking to me. I was very surprised, when I realized that I got a response from the one person I had least expected to see standing there.

**Who was the one who spoke up? Hah, don't ask me that. I don'****t know that either****. I'm still trying to decide. ****:P**

**How was that**** chapter? ****It was ****kinda**** short, and rushed. What'd you think? ****I'll try to write and get the next chapter up by Thursday. I promise. I think that'****s all. Wow, shortest A/N**** ever! ****Lol.**** Remember to read a****nd review! Come ****on,**** let's try to hit 75 reviews**** for this story****! I'd really appreciate that**** and maybe I'd update faster?**

**-Ilyilyx3**

**P.S. Do I have to say it? I'm sorry for any mistakes! I'm not perfect.  
**


	9. Releasing The Pain

**This is ****gonna**** be a long A/N you can ignore it if you want, but just read it please? I promise my next one won't be as long. ****Lol****. Anyway, I just barely checked my email today, and I saw that I received 10 PM's so sorry that I didn't reply to them. I**** just didn't know that anyone w****o****uld**** PM me. And, I won't reply to them now either. They were sent long ago. So apologies. :)**** But if you PM me, nowadays, I'll be sure to respond. I promise.**

**Anyway, ****I'm ****also**** sorry for not putting this ****chapter ****up on ****last ****Thursday like I promised****. I know**** it's been about 13**** days since I last updated, but i****t's just that I have so**** much to do. I have tests coming up, and**** I'm kind of behind on homework already! It's so not cool. ****Plus, I ****kinda**** had a smidge of writer's block**** before. But I got over it. No worries about that.**** And, guess what? This chapter is the longest one ever. It was 4****500+**** words! ****Whoo!**

**Last, ****I think that ****I'll probably update ****twice a week**** from n****ow on, or whenever ****if ****I don't have homework****, I'll update on those days too. But it might take longer since these next chapters will be longer. ;) ****Okay, okay. The boring, and long A/N is now over. So h****ere's the next chapter, I hope you guy enjoy it****. Doesn't the title sound interesting? **_**Releasing the Pain**_**, any guesses? Hah, you don't have to. Just read it. :)**

**Who's That Girl**

**Chapter 7-**** Releasing ****The**** Pain**

**Gabriella's POV-**

"Maybe it's because life's full of changes, Gabriella. Whether they're just simple ones, or the extremely complex ones, you've got to face them all." I lifted my head up to see who was talking to me. I was very surprised, when I realized that I got a response from the one person I had least expected to see standing there.

"Mrs. Darbus? What are you doing here?" I asked, wide eyed.

"Nevermind that. The better question is why are you here, and about to cry, might I add?" She asked, placing a hand on my shoulder, as I looked up at her.

"Oh, umm I was just…" I started, but I got cut off by her.

"Lying? Yes, I know that part Miss Montez. But what why are you sitting here, alone, in the middle of the evening, close to tears?" She asked.

"It's nothing really. You don't have to worry about it. I can handle it on my own." I said, forcing a small smile on my lips. She sighed.

"Gabriella, you know that as an educator, I'm supposed to help my students right?" She looked at me, waiting for an answer. I did a quick head nod as a tear made its way down my face. I quickly wiped it away. Her eyes and face were now both filled with concern. "And, as a person, I'm supposed to care for my loved ones, even if they are just students, who hang out with those ignorant basketball players." I smiled slightly.

"I know Ms. Darbus, I know." I replied assuringly.

"Very well Miss Montez, but remember, if you ever need anything, just inform me, or one of the many of care about you." She began. "Plus, I'm sure that Troy and his basketball posse will be there for you too, if they can tear away from their mad dunking." She said softly. She winked, and started to walk away.

"Mrs. Darbus?" I called out after her. She stopped, and turned her head slightly towards my way.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you." I replied. She smiled.

"Anytime Gabriella. Now, isn't it time for you to head home?" She looked down at her watch that was resting on her wrist. "It is 7:00pm already." I gasped as I quickly wiped my face dry. "You're right, I've got to go now. See you tomorrow in homeroom?" I asked, getting up.

"Of course! As long as Chad doesn't bring that insignificant basketball into class, it'll be pleasant to see you all tomorrow." She stated and walked away. I turned the other way, and started to walk towards my house. _Life's full of changes__. Whether they're just simple ones, or the extremely complex ones, you've got to face them all_. Mrs. Darbus' were ringing through my head. What she said was completely true.

"She's right, I've just got to deal with it." I said silently to myself. Suddenly, a familiar voice, started to sing. I turned around, and saw Chad starting to dance around like Corbin Bleu himself.

"Deal with it! Hooo. I ain't telling you no lie. Gi-" before he could finish, I whacked the back of his head.

"Ow! Gab! What did I tell you about hitting the mane before I'm about to finish the chorus?" he asked me. I started to laugh.

"Ha-ha. What did _I_ tell _you_ about singing those lame songs?" I retorted. He looked downward with a sad face.

"You, Taylor, and Sharpay told me that if I ever sang those songs, or try to impersonate Corbin, you'd whack me." He replied. I looked at him expectantly. "What?!? I thought that you girls were kidding!" I laughed.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever. Walk me home?" he nodded. I smiled slightly.

"So, where's Jimmy?" I asked, just noticing that Chad wasn't carrying his usual companion. He started to sniffle playfully.

"Jimmy's in a better place now Gabs." He said looking down.

"You sat on him again?!?" I asked wide eyed. The last time that happened, Chad freaked out, and he wouldn't stop calling me during the night time, if he was going to be okay or not. By the time he stopped calling that night, was around 6:30am. That morning, I had these big bags under my eyes, and I looked like a zombie

"Gabs!" Chad yelled.

"What?"

"You're not listening to me are you?" he asked. I laughed.

"Nope. Sorry Chad. What were you saying?" I replied. He pretended to think for a moment.

"Ahh, I remember now. No I did not sit on Jimmy again." He paused. "He's with Jack right now. Jimmy's getting old. Jack said that it might be time for him to go to the big net in the sky!" He exclaimed, shaking his head.

"Aww, it's okay big bro. I bet Jimmy will be fine." I assured him.

"I sure hope so. Hey Gabby?" I looked over at him.

"Hmm?" I kept my eyes on my shoes.

"Are you okay?" he asked. I raised my eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"You know, bout Troy, and Mel. Plus, I overheard you blowing up on Sharpay back there." He said, his voice filled with concern. "And I know that my little sis does not blow up like that for no reason. Is there something you wanna tell me?" I started to take longer and faster strides while muttering a quick "No". He quickened his pace, and caught up with me.

"You'll have to tell me sometime." he stated. I shook my head.

"Gabriella. Just tell me, are you okay? What are you feeling right now? You can't keep it all bottled up inside you." I took a deep breath, and let it out as I stopped walking.

"Actually, I don't really know." I said in a small voice, tearing up. He stopped, and stood beside me.

"Ga-" he started, but I cut him off.

"You know what? Chad, just leave it." And with that, I ran off to my house leaving a confused Chad behind.

I finally arrived at my house. I took out my house key, and opened the door. When I went inside, nobody was there. I was extremely glad, that there won't be anyone to ask about my tears, but somewhat worried that nobody was home. I started to look around, as my eyes reached a small post it on the coffee table. I scanned the note, and sighed out of relief.

_"Gabi,_

_Our family was invited out to dinner with the Evan'__s, and some par__t__ner__s, regarding our business. We were waiting for you to join, but it was getting late. We won't be home until midnight. And __Izzy's __staying __at the Bolton's __until Fri__day. D__on't __worry about her__. Love you, and sleep well honey!_

_-Mom and Dad."_

I went upstairs to my room, only to hear the doorbell ring. I walked down the stairs again. I didn't even bother looking out of the peep hole. I assumed it was going to be Chad, standing right there ready to question me once again. I opened the door, looking down at my feet.

"Would you just go away Ch-" I started, but when I looked up, I was staring into emerald eyes, and blonde hair. "Damnit." I sighed deeply. "What do you want Melanie?" I spat coldly at her.

"Well, well, well, looks like the sweet caring Gabriella isn't so nice after all." She retorted with the same icy tone I had.

"Seriously, what the hell are you doing here Melanie?"

"Nothing Montez, just got back from a making out session with _my_ guy, Troy." She replied. I scowled as I started to glare at her with cold eyes.

"Did you just come here just to tell me that shit? If you did then you could just fuck off and leave. Because right now, I'd rather not hear your intimate love life."

"No. That's not why I'm here." She replied in a 'duh' tone. I scoffed.

"Then?" I asked impatiently.

"I came here to do this." The next thing I felt was a cold hard slap on my right cheek. It was burning with pain.

"What the fuck was that for?" I asked her angrily. I was about to hit her, but I decided to be the bigger person. So I just stood there.

"That was for breaking my nail. I hate you and all of your retarded friends." She started, as she pretended to be occupied with her nails. "Especially that Sharpay girl. She's such a blonde priss. And that Chad guy? He needs a haircut, and what's with that stupid basketball he carries around? God are you and any of your friends worth Troy's precious time? He should ditch school, and spend more time with moi." Melanie spat out, glaring at me fiercely. She reached my boiling point by talking about my friends like that.

"Ughh, would you just leave you self absorbed bitch!" I yelled at her as I lift up my hand, and hit her cheek hard, leaving a big mark. "And never talk about my friends that way!" I exclaimed, as I punched her other cheek even harder than I did the other. I then slammed the door in her face, making sure I had hit her fake nose.

**Melanie's POV- (5 minutes earlier)**

_1020, 1026, __1034__ Aha. So this is where she lives. __Pft__, it's such a small house. __And to think her parents are partners with mine. __Ughh__, she's poor. __Wait, I hear something._

I started to walk over to the hedges, and peeked through them. There I saw the afro guy, and Gabriella talking. I crouched down behind the bushes, so they wouldn't see me. I started to look around to try to find something to focus my attention on.

_Bleh.__ This is this __soo__ boring. Damn that bitch better hurry up and get over here. _I took a deep breath._ Calm yourself down Mel. You'll get stress lines. _I started to rub my forehead gently with one hand, as I looked down at my nails. _Hmm, I'm in need of another __pedi__ and __mani__. Better call __Stace__ and Holly soon. Ooh, then we could go get some smoothes, and maybe ruin someone else's life. __Hahaha.__ It'll be __soo__ much fun after I'm done with this one. That whore won't know what hit her.__ Then, I'll get him to ditch his stupid friends and be with me. We'll travel the world together. And Troy will be all-._

I was brought out of my thoughts by the slam of a door. I looked over to house 1034 again, and one of the lights were now on. I quietly went over there, and looked through the window. She was reading some stupid note. When she went upstairs, I decided to make my move then. Just to make her run down again.

_Hey.I'm__ doing her a favor. She needs some exercise. __Fatty._

I heard some rattling, and the door opened. She was looking down at her feet for some reason.

"Would you just go away Ch-" she started, and she I looked up at me. "Damnit." She muttered and sighed. "What do you want Melanie?" she spat coldly at me.

"Well, well, well, looks like the sweet caring Gabriella isn't so nice after all." I retorted matching the tone she had.

"Seriously, what the hell are you doing here Melanie?" she asked.

"Nothing Montez, just got back from a making out session with _my_ guy, Troy." I replied. She scowled as I started to glare at her with cold eyes. I inwardly smirked. This is exactly how I wanted her to respond.

"Did you just come here just to tell me that shit? If you did then you could just fuck off and leave. Because right now, I'd rather not hear your intimate love life."

"No. That's not why I'm here." I replied in a 'duh' tone.

"Then?" she asked impatiently.

"I came here to do this." I answered as I slapped her hard.

"What the fuck was that for?" She asked me angrily. I was sure that she was going to hit me back, but she just stood there. _Damnit__. I need to get her to hit me._

"That was for breaking my nail. I hate you and all of your retarded friends." I started, as I pretended to be occupied with my nails. "Especially that Sharpay girl. She's such a blonde priss. And that Chad guy? He needs a haircut, and what's with that stupid basketball he carries around? God are you and any of your friends worth Troy's precious time? He should ditch school, and spend more time with moi." I finished, glaring at her. I was hoping she'd do something.

"Ughh, would you just leave you self absorbed bitch!" She yelled as she lifted up her hand, and hit my cheek, leaving a big mark. "And never talk about my friends that way!" she exclaimed, as she punched my other cheek even harder. She then slammed the door in my face. She was trying to hit my nose, but my reflexes got the better of her. She missed.

I smiled inwardly. As I walked down the pathway, and got into my car. I sat in the driver's seat, and took out the tape recorder, and rewinded a little bit, and played it.

_"—you self absorbed bitch! __**SMAC**__**K!!**__"_

I smiled. _Stupid ignorant Gabriella Montez.__ She just gave me exactly what I needed for my ultimate plan._

I started the engine, and drove off to my destination. Ten minutes later, I finally arrived. I parked my car, and went inside the building. I opened the door to the entrance, and smiled when I saw him.

"Hey Uncle David!" I greeted my uncle. When he saw me, he immediately stood up, and engulfed me into a huge hug.

"Ahh, how's my favorite niece doing?" he asked.

"Great! Can you help me with something?" I answered.

"Sure. Since I missed your birthday party last month, I'll do anything for you sweetie." He replied.

"Anything?" he nodded as I grinned.

"Really? Thanks Uncle David. Now let's get to work!" I exclaimed.

**Gabriella's POV-**

I'm at the hospital right now. We're currently sitting out in the waiting room, waiting for my dad's test results. We haven't heard or seen anything him either. After Melanie had showed up, my mom called me.

_Flashback- (10 minutes ago)_

_After Melanie left, I went upstairs, and __laid__ on my bed, looking up at the ceiling. I was trying to figure out why she even came here. God I couldn__'t believe that she just did that. How does sh__e even know where I live? __Uggh__, s__he is such a frigging bitch. I just hope she doesn't hurt any of the others. I sighed. __Oh well, m__ight as well finish my weekend homework. I was about done with my AP Chemistry, and Math homework, when the __telephone__ started to ring__. I sighed as I __got up, and took__ the phone__ off the stand, and answered it_

_"Hello?"__ I said annoyed_

_"__Gabby__? It's mom.__" The voice on the other end answered.__ I could tell that she had been sobbing._

_"Oh, hey mom.__ What's wrong?"__ My voice went from annoyed, to concern right away._

_"Nothing.__ Gabriella, c__ould you come to the hospital right now?"__ she replied_

_"What? Why? __What __happened__ Mom? W__here's dad?__ Is he okay__? Why are you crying?__" I asked __worriedly_

_"Honey, calm down.__ He's fine. Just come down here, and I'll explain everything." She replied. I took a deep breath__ to calm myself down.  
_

_"Okay mom. I'll see you soon. Love you." I said._

_"Love you too."__And with that I hun__g up, and drove to the hospital._

_End Flashback_

And here we are now. I'm just glad that Izzy's at the Bolton's right now. Or else, she might have seen her mother cry. When I got here, my mom told me the whole story. Turns out after my parents ate dinner with the Evans and their other business partners, my Dad went to get the car, and some guy crashed into him. It was a hit and run accident. He just fled the scene. My dad was rushed to the hospital. We don't know anything else about my dad yet. He's still in the operating room. They wouldn't tell me or my mother anything.

I looked over at my mother. I've never seen her so down, so helpless. She's usually comforted by my father. He's the rock in our family, the strongest one. But sadly, he's not here right now. I decided to break the silence.

"Mom?" she looked up at me with sad eyes.

"I could've prevented it Gabriella. We could've taken the valet service. But I told him not to." She replied, sobbing even louder. I immediately hugged her, as tears started down my face too.

"Mom-" I started, but she cut me off. "No Gabriella. It's all my fault." She said, shaking her head. "Mom, who knows? Maybe he only has a small fracture or something. He'll be fine." I replied, trying to calm her down. Before she could reply, another voice interrupted.

"Nathan Montez?" a doctor called out. I nodded for my mom to stay, while I talked to him. I stood up, and went over to the doctor.

"How is my dad?" I asked.

"He's fine. A shard of glass pierced through his leg, but we just got it out. He's temporarily paralyzed right now, but he should recover within days of therapy." He said, smiling. I gave him a small smile back.

"Which room is he in? Can we visit him?" I asked hurriedly. He nodded.

"Your father is in room 358. And yes you may visit him. You might wanna tell your mother too. Before she floods this place out, please." He answered playfully, as he chuckled. I looked at him weirdly. _Hello? My dad was just in a car accident. Do you think I want to hear your lame jokes?_

I gave off a fake smile.

"Okay. Thank you." I replied, as I walked over to tell my mother the news. As soon as I did, she wiped her tears away, and walked quickly to my dad's room. I smiled slightly as I tried to catch up to her.

When I looked through the door, I saw a sweet sight in front of me. My dad was all scratched up and his leg was in a cast, and yet he was smiling brightly, and comforting my mom. She was laying beside him, laying her head on his chest. He was occasionally whispering things into her ear. I didn't want to ruin the moment, but I did want to see him. So I walked inside after five minutes of their alone time.

"Hey…" he said quietly, and he nodded to my mother, who was now asleep in his arms.

"Hi Dad. Are you okay?" I asked. He nodded.

"I'm fine. Nothing can knock Nathan Montez down, and keep him there." He replied. I giggled lightly.

"So how do you feel about the news?" he asked. I raised my eyebrows in confusion.

"What do you mean Dad? What news?"

"Didn't your mother tell you?" he questioned.

"No.. Dad, what didn't mom tell me?" I replied. He simply shook his head. I took a step closer. "Dad, tell me." He sighed.

"The dinner we went on today, we met up with the Evans?" he asked making sure we were on the right page. I nodded. "We also saw the Greens. They both have this plan to extend our business. And to do so, one of the partners have to go to New York for three months." He finished quickly.

"What does that have to do with anything? The others can go. You and mom can stay right?" I asked quietly as I sat down on one of the chairs in front of him.

"But that the thing honey. Both the Greens, and the Evans have other businesses to take care of down here, and they've asked us to go." He explained.

"What?! You guys can't go." I exclaimed shaking my head, as I was fighting back tears.

"We have to honey. It's just the business. You mother and I will leave on Saturday. We'll take Isabella with us since you have school, and you can't possibly take care of her." He stated.

"But- but can't I come with you? I really don't want to stay here by myself, Dad." I replied.

"You have to Gabi. You have school to tend to. You can't miss it for a little business trip your mom and I have to take. And you definitely can't come."

"Dad-" I started, but he wouldn't let me finish. "No Gabriella. You're staying here and that's final. We've already made the arrangements and everything."

"You can't leave Dad. I need you, Mom, and Isabella here with me." I started, as my voice was breaking, and tears threatening to fall. "Please don't leave me here on my own. I need you. You guys don't know how much I do." I pleaded.

"Gabriella-"

"It okay." I took a deep breath, trying to hold back the tears even longer. "Just go with Mom, and Izzy. Nevermind what I said. I just didn't want to be alone. Just- Ughh, I'll see you soon okay? I'm gonna go now. Sc-school tomorrow. Bye Dad." Before he could say anything, I stormed out of the room, and went straight to my car.

I just sat there for a while. Until I decided to go home. I started the car, and drove my way back home. _Gee, my life is so great right now. My parents are leaving for three months. And they're __taking the one person I see hope in with them.__ Plus, Troy has a freaking bitch of a girlfriend who happens to always po__p up out of nowhere__. He's not even talking to me anymore! __Sharpay's__ probably mad at me since I blew up at her. Ryan, the one person who could get me to laugh, is out of town and Chad… I pushed him away. In fact, I've been pushing everyone away from me. Including Taylor, __Kelsi__Sharpay__, and of course Chad. Even Zeke and Jason have stopped trying__ to talk to me_. I sighed as I pulled up to the driveway. I went inside once again.

I went upstairs, and took out my diary. It was the only thing that I could confide in now. Since Isabella's at the Bolton's. I opened my locket that my parents gave me when I was born, and used it to unlock my journal. I smiled inwardly. I remember when Troy convinced me to not call my diary and diary, but a journal.

_Flashback- (7 years ago)_

_I was sitting in my room, writing in my diary when I heard noise outside my balcony. I looked over, but I didn't see anything. I passed it off as being wind, and continued my writing._

_"Last week, Troy, Chad, and Taylor came over to sleepover. It was __soo__ much fun. Chad had fallen asleep, and we successfully braided his hair, and decorated his face with my mom's make up. When he woke up-"_

_I stop writing when I heard a __tappy__ noise. I looked up, and I saw Troy stand there on my balcony. I went over, and opened the door._

_"Troy? How did you get up here?" I asked curiously._

_"I climbed the tree. __Duh.__ It's so much fun! You should try it Brie." He replied. I shook my head no._

_"No thanks. I'd rather stay here as write in my diary." I answered. He started to laugh, as I looked at him strangely._

_"Why are you laughing you dork?" I asked__, smacking his arm_

_"Ha- hah!__ It's just that you call your journal a diary? __How girly!"__ He said in between laughs. I scoffed._

_"__Troy__yy__, if you didn't realize this, __than __you should__ now__. I'm a GIRL. Not a guy. __Hello?!?!"_

_"I know, I know. But still it's so girly. Those things are like so __Sharpayish__ You should __soo__ call it a journal instead. That's what I call mine!" He exclaimed. I started to laugh._

_"__Omg__! You have a diary?!? I'm __soo__ telling the others." I replied. His eyes widened._

_"You better not!" he said, and he tackled me to the ground, and started to tickle me._

_"Stop it Troy!" I said, and I tried to push him off of me. But he wouldn't budge. _

_"Never!__ You have to promise that you won't tell, AND you'll never call your diary a diary__ again__, but a journal!" he answered. I shook my head no. The tickling continued for another two minutes before __I__ finally caved in._

_"Fine Troy!__ I promise! I don't have a diary, but a journal!" I exclaimed, as he stopped, and got off of me. _

_"Good Brie. Now come on. I smell cookies. Maybe your mommy made some?" he __said as he helped me up, and le__d me out the door._

_End Flashback_

I sighed at the memory. Things will never be that way again. I took out my favorite pen, and started to write.

"_It happened. I__t really __did happen. __Diary, remember last year when the others and I went to the fair, and I__ sa__w that fortune teller? W__hen __I went there, __she told me to take a h__old of my life, and treasure it right? But I__ left out the part where she told me that one day, it's all going to co__me crashing down. I__ didn't believe her back then. __Truth was, I didn't want to, but now I __have to._

_My life really is starting to crash down. I just got back from the hospital. My dad was __invovled__ in a hit and run accident. Oh, and guess what?! His partners are making him, Mom, and __Izzy__ go to New York for three months without me. Oh joy! NOTE THE SARCASM__ Diary. Troy has his crazy girlfriend who keeps on hitting me. Plus, he stopped talking__ to me. I blew up on __Shar__ today, and pushed away all of my friends, including my big brother. So basically, I have no one now, except you. But you get the point. _

_God __I hate my life right now. I just feel so vulnerable. It can't get any worse can it? I don't know. __I hope not. __Ughh__! just need to do something to take out the pain I'm feeling right now, something to just release it. I have an idea… I'll come back __later diary, once I've done it._

_-Gabriella."_

With that, I closed the diary, relocked it, and put it back into its hiding place. I went into hallway bathroom, and opened the medicine cabinet. I searched the entire cabinet, until I found my desired tool, my dad's razor. I carefully took it out, and went back into my own bathroom.

I positioned my wrists above the sink. I then took the razor, and cut my wrist deeply, making a huge line across it. Blood started to pour out as I gasped in pain, and tears ran down my cheeks. Still, I cut my other wrist, and soon the pain from my life, and the razor, both melted away.

I sighed knowing that this doing this to myself is bad, but it's releasing the pain, I've bottled up all of these years, and it made me feel better. I sunk to the floor, putting my head into my bloody hands. I started to sob, and cry hysterically. I haven't been like this since my grandfather died when I was ten.

**No cliffy! Oh well. **

**Aww****, poor Gabriella.**** Too bad she doesn't know that her life **_**can**_** get much worse right:'( A tear for her. ****Can anyone guess about what Melanie's up to? ****And what about Mrs. ****Darbus****? Why did she appear in this chapter? If anyone can guess correctly, I'****ll dedicate the next chapter**** to you, or maybe even send you a sneak peak on future chapters.**

**This was the longest chapter I've written! It was 12 pages on word! Aren't you guys proud of me? ****Lol****. And it was my favorite chapter too. But it was ****soo**** hard to write. You know? ****Making Gabriell****a do that to herself.**** Umm, I ****don't really have a rant for you down here. ****Sorry. ****Haha.**

**Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! And please tell me what you think. I'd really want to know. :) The next chapter might ****not ****be ****up until ****a while. So you guys have to wait. :( Anyway, have a nice week, and remember to **_**Review!**_

**-Ilyilyx3**

**P.S. Sorry for any mistakes, once again!**


	10. Gabriella Did What!

**Thanks for the reviews you guys! I really appreciate them. :) ****My friend kept on b****ugging me to change it, ****s****o i****f you're too lazy to log on your account, or you just don't have one, you can now ****review anonymously. How fun! ****Lol. ****See? ****This wasn't too long. ****Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

**This c****hapter is dedicated to **_**Mars lover who has a **__**highvoice**_**. I totally LOVE reading your reviews. They make me laugh and smile. :)****  
**

**Who's That Girl**

**Chapter 8- ****Gabriella Did What?!**

**No****body's**** POV- (The Next Day)**

Gabriella was lying in her bed, just staring up to the ceiling. She hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. She had stayed up all night thinking about how her life would be like, without her parents and her little sister for the next three months. Her face was tear stained, with insignificant amount of make-up that she usually applied on, was now smudged all over her face. Her hair was scrambled all over the place. Both of her wrists were scarred, and covered with blood.

The alarm on her bedside started to go off all of a sudden. She turned on her side, and stared at the clock. It read 6:30 am. On a normal day at this time, Gabriella would be frantically running around the room trying to get ready for school. But she didn't want to go school today, much less get out of bed and do something. All she wanted to do was lay there, hidden away from the world, and all alone.

As the volume of the alarm clock rose, as did her anger and frustration. She raised her hand, and hit the off button very roughly, making it fall to the floor. Gabriella simply lifted the covers over her head, and turned over to the other way as she finally fell asleep for the first time that day, not caring that she was probably going to miss school. Today, she didn't have a care in the world.

A couple of moments passed, and she was awakened from her slumber by the blaring ringing of her cell phone. She groaned loudly as she turned over again, and threw her hand over to the night stand, searching for the noisy object. Once her hand felt the rectangular shape, she lifted it up from where it was resting, and looked at it carefully. Taylor's name was blinking across the screen. She sighed, as she pushed the accept button.

"Hello?" she answered groggily.

"Gabby? Where are you? You totally skipped the Decathlon practice this morning, and you missed homeroom! What happened?" Taylor asked, her voice filled with concern.

"Nowhere Taylor. I'm not feeling good. Sorry for missing the practice and all. And I don't think I could make it to school today." Gabriella answered, faking a loud cough in between her words.

"Oh, okay. Do you want me to grab your homework for you too? I do have most of your classes. And I could probably get the work from the other teachers with Troy's help." she replied. Tears rushed to Gabriella's eyes at the mention of Troy. The whole night she had tried to get rid of all thoughts about him, and when she finally did, Taylor had brought them back.

"Yes Taylor. Thank you." Her voice was starting to break so she simply muttered a quick 'bye' and hung up before Taylor could comprehend or say anything else. She threw her phone back onto the night stand.

She laid back down on her bed and started to think about Troy. She thought of all the time they had spent together, and the present day, as she started to fall into a deep slumber. Hours later, she was awakened when the phone started to ring once again. Yelling out in anger into her pillow, she reluctantly picked up the phone, and pressed the green button.

"Hello?" She answered angrily.

"Gabriella, don't you dare use that tone with me, Miss Missy." The voice on the other line replied.

"Cameron?" She asked curiously.

"The one and only." He stated cockily. "So, how are you? I haven't seen from you since the summer of 05'! That's like two years already!" he finished as he started to chuckle. She laughed unenthusiastically with him, trying to cover the sadness in her voice. He raised his eyebrows at the sadness in her voice. He noticed that she wasn't her usual perky self. She didn't correct him that it had been one and a half years, not two, like she normally would have.

"Haha, yeah. I'm great…" she responded. "just great…" she finished under her breath sarcastically.

"Ellie, what's wrong?" he asked sympathetically. Before Gabriella could respond, Cameron cut her off once again. "And don't tell me, 'It's nothing Cam.' Because I know you way to well too believe that lie."

"It's really nothing." She answered trying to convince him, and herself.

"Don't even Gabriella! Don't make me grab my matching key/locket, fly all the way over there, just to find out about whatever you're moping over from your diary!" he exclaimed. She sighed deeply before telling him the whole story.

She told him of how thing were before Melanie came, and her bad affect on Gabriella's life. How she has been pushing away her friends, The Montez's mandatory trip to New York, and the Troy situation. But she definitely left out the part about her cutting herself. She knew that he'd have to know sometime soon, but just not now.

Cameron just sat there on the other side of the phone, still shock. He was still trying to take in everything that she'd just said. He understood that she pushed away her friends for her own protection, but he couldn't believe the fact that another girl could do this to Gabriella. Neither had he been able to comprehend the part about the Montez's leaving her in her time of need. He cleared his throat a little, trying to rack his mind of what to say to comfort her. Since he clearly couldn't when he was living thousands of miles away.

"I feel for you El. But don't you think that you should tell someone else? I mean, I'm glad that you told me and all. But you should tell Chad, or Taylor. Someone who could help you. I would, but let's face it. I'm not going to be able to help you there all the way in Albuquerque from here in Los Angeles." He replied, trying to lighten the mood. But Gabriella just sat there, holding the phone in silence.

"Nevermind. You know what Ellie? You shouldn't even worry about that _Melina_ girl. If karma comes through, and which it always does by the way." He paused for a moment, trying to get her to listen closely. "Ready?" he paused again before he finally started again, "Maybe...Chad will drop Jimmy, and it will roll down to where she and Troy are, when they're walking, and they don't notice a thing, when BOOM! They both trip over it. _Melina_ falls and breaks her plastic everything, and Troy hits his head, knocking some good sense into his thick headed skull, he'll come back to you. Doesn't that sound great?!" he finished clapping and talking like a little school girl.

Gabriella couldn't help but giggle a little. Hearing her genuine giggles, he smiled brightly. "There you go. There's that famous Gabriella laugh that we all know and love."

"Okay, okay. I get it. Thank you so much Cam. You always know what to say don't you?" she replied. He grinned sheepishly.

"Of course I do Ellie. Hey, I was the one who got you to talk after Troy left for summer camp in 95' right?" he asked. After not receiving a response from Gabriella for a while, Cameron's eyes widened. "Oh god. Sorry El! I didn't mean to. I just…I wasn't…I forgot…I-" before he could ramble on any longer, he was cut off by her giggling. "What's so funny Miss G?" he asked. She just continued to laugh.

"It's nothing. It's just you were so terrified!" she started, as the giggling subsided. "I'm really okay Cam. No worries at all. I feel so much better after talking to you."

"That's good to hear. Now remember Gabriella, whenever you need someone, or anything. Anything at all, don't hesitate to call me okay? I'm just a plane flight away. I could be there like that." He said as he snapped his fingers loudly trying to prove his point.

"I know Cameron. I'm just very thankful to have you. And if there's anything, I promise to call you, and disturb your wonderful life in California for you to catch a 4 hour plane ride over here to New Mexico, just to help me." She replied sarcastically, but he chose to ignore it.

"That's all I ask Ellie. Any other problems you'd like to tell Cammy the Doccie about?" he asked playfully. She shook her head no as she started to talk again,

"Nah. I'm good for now. Thank you for everything again Cam. You've always been here for me."

"You've always been here for me too El." He said.

"Duh Cameron!" she responded looking at the clock. She gasped when she saw that the clock read 1:30 pm. "Cam? Sorry to break it to you, but I gotta go. It's 1 in the afternoon, and I seriously need to go and visit my dad. Talk to you soon?" she questioned.

"Absolutely. Remember your promise El!"

"I will. Love you Cam."

"Love you too Ellie. Bye."

"Bye Cam." She replied as she hung up the phone, feeling much better than she has all week.

_Guess Cameron__ does __have__ a good affect on me after __all._ She thought as she went inside her closet to grab some clothes and get ready to go visit her dad.

She went inside her bathroom, and looked around. The entire bathroom was pretty decent, except for the sink, which was filled with her blood. She took the razor, went back into her room, and carefully placed it in her personal drawer, right next to her diary. She then went back into the bathroom, bent down, and took out a sponge from the drawers. She started to clean the sink, ridding every trace of her cutting herself.

After Gabriella was done, she took a look at herself in the mirror. Her face was entirely pale. She had large, black bags under her eyes. She definitely couldn't go visit her dad like this. If she did, he and her mom would have a heart attack, landing them back into the hospital. Gabriella took out her make up bag, and put on a ton of blush, and powder on her face to cover her sadness. When see looked at the mirror again, she finally looked like her old self, just not as perky and upbeat.

She sighed, as she changed her clothes. She wore a simple pair of skinny jeans, a plain blue t-shirt, and a huge hoodie that was sure to cover her wrists. Gabriella went into the bathroom once more, to tie her hair up in a messy bun. After she was pleased with how she looked she took her keys, and left the house. This time, she didn't even bother taking the car, she just walked to the hospital.

**Gabriella'****s**** POV-**

I walked down the pathway, and went into the direction of the hospital. I couldn't believe the positive influence Cameron had on me. An hour earlier, I was completely depressed, but after the phone call, my spirits were lifted completely. I was so deep in thought, that I hadn't noticed that I had already reached the hospital. I looked down at my watch. _Fifteen minutes__, could've gone faster. _I went inside, and was greet by the woman at the front desk. I simply nodded at her, and went straight to room 358, where my dad was currently staying at. When I reached the room, I looked inside through the window, and saw my mom cutting up fruit for my dad to eat. I opened the door and walked inside.

"Hi Mom, hey Dad." I said, making my presence known. Both of my parents had a look of shock on their faces. _Maybe I should've called first._

"Gabby? What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at school?" my mom asked. I just stood at the doorway, racking my brain for an legible excuse.

"It's…it…it was a half day." Gabriella lied, as she nodded. "Yup. The faculty had this big meeting that was long over due." My parents nodded their heads understandingly, before my mother motioned for me to come and sit beside them. I hesitantly walked over, and sat down. I felt a slight tension in the room, but decided to ignore it.

"So, how's your leg Dad?" I asked. He and my mother both smiled.

"It's pretty good Gabi." He answered me.

"That's good to hear. Umm, about yesterday Dad, I just wanted to apologize. You guys should go." I replied as I smiled. He nodded.

"So how was school today honey?" my mom asked me.

"Perfect." I replied sarcastically. Though I guess they didn't hear me since they asked me to tell them what was so perfect about it. I started to tell them what usually happened. About how I'd walk to homeroom with the rest, how we'd joke about Chad's afro, and Jimmy, the usual funny, haha stuff. I had made sure that they would have no idea about Miss Melanie. My parents started to laughed along with me. I was even happier that the tension was now cut in half, and gone.

**Troy's POV- (6 hours later)**

It's only 8 o'clock tonight, and here I am sitting on my bed, just moping around. I couldn't help it. I'm just really worried about Brie, and Melanie. First off, Gabriella did not go to school today, neither did she go to work at the Peanut. From what I heard, she's sick. But what I don't get is that there are no lights on at the Montez house. The rest and I had tried calling her earlier, but still no answer.

Melanie, she didn't call me once, neither did she come and see me at school. Plus, she didn't go to work with us today. I am beginning to grow fonder of her, but she'll never take Brie's place in my heart. No one can. I sighed. Where could they be?!? I'm-

I was brought out of my thoughts by the doorbell. I looked over at the clock. '_8:56_' it read. Who could it be? My parents just left to go visit someone at the hospital, and it definitely couldn't be Chad or anyone else in the gang. Everyone had plans tonight. I got up, and went to the door. I peered through the peephole, and saw a badly scratched up Melanie. My eyes went wide at the sight, as I immediately opened the door.

"Troy!" she exclaimed, as I engulfed her into a huge hug.

"Mellie, what happened?" I asked her worriedly.

"I-it was Gabriella." Those three words shot a lot of pain and hurt into my heart.

"Gabriella did what?!" I yelled loudly, as she started to release tears. Guilt started to rise in my stomach, as I lowered my voice. I gulped.

"Sorry Mel. Umm, so w-what do you mean Gabriella did this to you?" I asked as I let go of her, and led her inside my house, and closed the door. She sat down, and I followed suit.

"That's it. Gabriella did this to me. She yelled at me, called your friends all of these horrible things, and started to attack me when I was standing up for you.. and them." She replied.

"No…she couldn't have. Not my Brie." I responded, saying the last part, barely under my breath.

"Don't you believe your own girlfriend?!?" Melanie yelled angrily. I inwardly cursed. _Damn this girl has even more severe mood swings than Sharpay does when she's pmsing._

"Of course I would, but babe, Gabriella's been my best friend for over 16 years. I think I'd know her to do better than this. She wouldn't hurt people for no reason." I stated, meaning every word that was coming out of my mouth.

"Oh yeah? Well listen to this Troy. Stacey was with me during the whole incident, and she recorded most of it." She said as she took out a small tape recorder, and played it her voice started to come on.

_**"Everyone is a **__**mofo. **____**Sharpay's**__** a blonde **__**priss**__**. Taylor's a stupid know-it-all. Chad needs a freaking hair **__**cut,**__** and a therapist. **__**Ryan needs a damn girlfriend to keep him away from me.**__**"**__** A voice that sounded like Gabriella said**__** icily.**_

___**"**__**What? Gabriella, how could you say that?!? They're your best friends!**__**"**__** Melanie yelled in response.**_

___**"Who cares? They're all poorer than me. Who would need them in their lives?" she shot back. **_

___**"How can**__** you say that Gabriella?!"**__** Melanie replied back, sounding even angrier. The tape went silent for a moment, before the sound of a slap was heard.**_

___**"You self absorbed bitch!"**__** Gabriella's voice rang through the house, as another slap**__** and a lot of **__**grunting was audible after that.**_

Melanie finally shut it off. I was left sitting there completely speechless. _How could Gabriella do that?_ I turned to Melanie who was strangely smirking, but when she noticed me looking at her, her smirk disappeared, as a sad face appeared. I was going to question her about it, but I shrugged it off.

"I can't believe it Mel." I said, as I put my head into my hands. "She's my best friend. How could she?" I asked, my voice was breaking, as confusion and tears rushed to my eyes. Melanie just sat there, stroking my hair lightly.

"I know Troy, I know…" She replied simply.

**Jeez, no cliffy for this chapter either. ****:P  
**

**I bet you that you're all like, 'HUH?' right now right? You're probably wondering who Cameron is, and how Melanie got that tape. Well, all I can say is that the tape is part of her ultimate plan. Think back to the last chapter. Uncle David ****ring**** a bell? It has something to do with his profession. I'll explain more of that later. And as for ****who**** Cameron is? You'll have to find out in the next chapter. ;)**

**Sorry for the shortness of this one. If I had carried on any longer, than this chapter would've been the length of two! ****Haha.**** Plus, I have a cold right now. I am so tired from the medicine. I think I could fall asleep in this uncomfortable chair of mine. It's so**** NOT cool. ****We're almost at the 100 reviews mark. We're soo close! Lol. Okay, let's try for at least 14 reviews before I update with the next chapter? Please and thanks. :)**

**Also, I'm working on a new story trailer right now. It's called _Money, Love, and Jealousy_. Weird title right? Lol. It's a Troyella. The trailer will be up soon. So look forward to that. That's all from me right now. So I'll just let you be on your way now. But before I do that, sorry for any mistakes...again! And, _Review_! I really wanna know what you guys think of this story. **

**Have a nice weekend everyone!**

**-Ilyilyx3**

_**Sneak peek for the next chapter-**_

___**Troy's POV-**_

___**I had just dropped off Isabella in her **__**room,**__** I slowly walked down the hall, as I looked inside Gabriella's room. It was **__**pitch**__** dark, you couldn't see a **__**thing, except for the light **__**coming from the bathroom door. I walked over**__**, and look**__**ed inside. T**__**he scene **__**unfolding **__**in front of me, scared **__**me**__** so badly that if I were to wet my pants, I wouldn't have even noticed**__**. B**__**rie, my**__** B**__**rie was sobbing hysterically**__**, and sitt**__**ing on the floor…**_

___**Her wrists were both bleeding. H**__**er blood was smudged all over both of her arms, **__**on her clothing, and all ov**__**er the rug she was sitting on. I**__** look**__**ed**__** over **__**at **__**the **__**sink, it was covered in blood. And**__** there I saw the dreaded thing**__**, a sharp**__** blood-staine**__**d razor**__** sittin**__**g on the side of the sink, **__**still wet **__**and dripping **__**with her blood. **__**I **__**just stood there wide eyed, a**__**nd dumbfounded looking at her. Up to the point w**__**here I couldn't take it anymore,**__** I**__** ran**__**…**_


	11. It Can't Be

**I aimed to post this up on l****ast Sunday, but ****a lot of ****stuff**** got in the way. ****S****orry about that. But I did ****make**** this chapter super long. :) ****It was 5500+ words without my author's notes. ****Haha****. And to clear some things up from the reviews you guys left;**

**-Troy's just being stupid. But hey, he's a guy. ****They're all li****ke that. ****Lol.**** No offense to the male**** persuasion****… But I can promise you ****all ****that he'll ****get out of his Chad moment, and ****see the light soon enough. (N****ot the d****ying ****light**** :P)**

**-The tape that Melanie has? It's a fake. The only real part was, **_**"—you self absorbed bitch! SMACK!!"**_** from chapter 7**** remember? And**** I'm telling you guys, the other bad parts on the tape, ****had to do with Uncle David!**

**-****This story was sort of based on ****a soap****, and was named and co-based on ****the song Who's That Girl by Hilary Duff. Not the ****one by Eve. Even though it would**** be funny if Melanie's name was Eve, don'****t yo****u think? Then she ca****n sing that song. ****Haha**

**-And yes, karma will make its ****ugly ****w****ay around to Melanie soon****. When the time comes, I'll ask for ideas**** on how to torture her****. So everyone get thinking! ;)**

**And thank you for caring about my stupid cold. Luckily, it went away already. I just have a severe cough now. My mom keeps on telling me that if I keep coughing, soon enough, I'm ****gonna**** cough up my tonsils… parents. ****Lol. ****I think the answers to the other questions****, and reviews**** are self explanatory in this chapter. So go on, and read! Hope you guys enjoy it.**

**This chapter is dedicated to **_**Together4ever**_**. :) Hah, I totally loved your r****eview. Your mad rambling was so**** funny!**

**Who's That Girl**

**Chapter 9-**** It Can't Be**

**Troy's POV- (The Next Day)**

The time is currently 5pm. I'm making my way to the Peanut Diner right now. I had just finished basketball practice. It was the worse one ever. I had missed all of the shots I tried to make. The others hand stolen the ball from me countless times. The coaches, my dad, and the rest of the team are all mad at me. But right now, I could really care less about that. The only thing I'm caring about right now is Brie. She didn't come to school today either. We didn't receive any type of communication from her.

As I'm walking down the road, I was still contemplating on whether I should tell the others or not. I'm extremely confused right now. My heart is split into three different sides. One side is saying to break up with Melanie, and avoid her for the rest of my life. The other side is telling me to go tell the others about the tape. The third, is telling me to go find Gabriella, and talk to her.

I sighed deeply, as I saw a big bush of hair coming towards me through my peripheral vision.

"Why so glum chum?" he asked playfully when he reached my side. I shook my head at the sight of Jimmy in his arms.

"Chad, hypothetically speaking, what if GabriellabeatupMelaniecalledSharpayablondeprissTaylorastupidknowitall, and saidthatyouneededahaircutandtherapistasryanwouldneedagirlfriend?" I asked quickly as I glanced over at him to see a very confused expression on his face.

"Three things buddy. One, if I weren't your bestest buddie, I wouldn't have understood. Two, why the hell would Gabriella do and say those things? Three… three…. Ahh- Nevermind. I don't have a third thing." He replied nonchalantly. I raised an eyebrow to him.

"I know the first and third part, but the second thing is exactly what I'm thinking about." I stated looking down at my shoes.

"What? Why… did our little Gabby do those things or something?" I simply nodded. He started cracking up right on the spot.

"Ha- ha- HAHAHA. Are you serious? Like Gabriella would actually do any of those things. How could you say that Troy? Come on. She's Gabriella." I shrugged.

"Maybe it's because of this?" I said, as I stopped walking, and took out the tape recorder from my backpack, and played it for him. He just stood there, shock evident to his facial expression. Before he could say anything else, another voice interrupted him.

"That's not Gabriella." The voice said. Chad and I turned around to see Kelsi standing there, softly shaking her head. "It can't be." She stated before she walked away. I was about to go to her, but Chad pulled me back.

"Don't dude. Let Jason take care of it later."

"So…"

"I can't believe that she said those things man." He responded before I said anything else.

"I know Chad. How did you think I felt when Melanie played me that tape?" he didn't respond that time, he just started walking again. I sighed, as I followed suit. We just walked to the diner in complete silence. When we got there, I was about to break it, when Chad beat me to it.

"We've got to tell the others." He stated before walking inside. I immediately went in after him.

**Chad's POV-**** (15 minutes earlier)**

Basketball practice had just ended. Troy stunk up the whole court. I could tell that it was because of Gabriella. She's been very out of the loop lately. This past week, while the whole gang had been getting closer to Melanie, she pretty much pushed all of us away. I wonder if something's wrong. She didn't come to school today.

But from his clearly visible expression, I could tell that there was something else bothering him. It's very easy to tell if something was wrong with him. He'd stink at basketball if anything was bothering him. If something's bothering me, I would still be able to play. In fact, I would be able to hide anything. I started to spin Jimmy around on my first three fingers.

I stopped spinning him, as I looked at my watch on my wrist. '5:05' it read. Damn, I'm gonna be late for work. I took a firm hold of Jimmy, as I started to sprint to the diner. Five blocks away from my destination, I saw Troy walking in front of me, currently deep in thought. I ran up to him, and decided to try to brighten up his day.

"Why so glum chum?" I asked playfully when I was in a small distance from Troy. He shook his head, when he looked at Jimmy in my arms.

_Geez, what's wrong with him. I know that something else is bothering him. What is it?!?_

"Chad, hypothetically speaking, what if GabriellabeatupMelaniecalledSharpayablondeprissTaylorastupidknowitall, and saidthatyouneededahaircutandtherapistasryanwouldneedagirlfriend?" he questioned quickly as he glanced over at me again to see me in a very confused state.

_Pffbt__ there it is, and here we go again._

"Three things buddy. One, if I weren't your bestest buddie, I wouldn't have understood. Two, why the hell would Gabriella do and say those things? Three… three…. Ahh- Nevermind. I don't have a third thing." I replied to him nonchalantly. He automatically raised an eyebrow in my direction.

"I know the first and third part, but the second thing is exactly what I'm thinking about." He stated looking down at his old tennis shoes.

"What? Why… did our little Gabby do those things or something?" He simply nodded at me. I found this very amusing, and started cracking up right on the spot.

"Ha- ha- HAHAHA. Are you serious? Like Gabriella would actually do any of those things. How could you say that Troy? Come on. She's Gabriella." he shrugged as if it was something normal.

"Maybe it's because of this?" he said, as he stopped walking, and took out the tape recorder from his backpack, and pressed the play button. I just stood there, pretty sure that shock was evident to my facial expression. Before I could response, or much less say anything else, another voice interrupted me.

"That's not Gabriella." The voice stated. Troy and I turned around to see Kelsi standing there, softly shaking her head. "It can't be." She stated before she walked away. I looked over at Troy, and saw that he was about to go to her, but I pulled him back before he could.

"Don't dude. Let Jason take care of it later." I told him.

"So…" he started, as I interrupted him before he could open his mouth again.

"I can't believe that she said those things man." I said, with both anger, and sadness boiling inside of me.

"I know Chad. How did you think I felt when Melanie played me that tape?" Troy replied.

I definitely didn't have a response for him that time, I just started walking again. I heard Troy sigh, as to what I guessed, was him following suit to me. We were walking to the diner in complete silence. When we got there, I decided to speak up, and say something.

"We've got to tell the others." I stated before walking inside. I looked around, with clear anger, desperately trying to find our friends

I just couldn't believe it. After Troy had played that tape, I got so riled up. Nobody talks about my friends, and mane that way. Not even my so called little sister. I walked into the diner, to see Taylor, Sharpay, Zeke, and Ryan sitting on our usual booth. I sighed. I don't know how they're going to take this. Especially if the dissing came from one of our own. I reached the table, I sat down beside her, as I opened my mouth ready to tell them, but Taylor started to talk.

"Did you hear about what Gabriella did to Melanie, and called us?" she asked, throwing me into complete and utter shock.

"Yeah, I know. Wait, how'd you hear?" I asked curiously.

"Melanie just came in here a couple of minutes ago. She told us everything, and played that tape. Kelsi ran out, with this emotionless expression, and Jason followed." She replied, as I looked around, and saw that everyone else just sat there, with mad expressions. There was a very uncomfortable silence in the air. I looked over at Sharpay, who had a very angry look on her face.

"Ehh, Shar? What are you thinking about?" I asked the now fuming blonde.

"Oh nothing. Just the fact that our ex-best friend betrayed all of us, and hurt our new friend." She said. I was about to cut in, but she cut _me_ off instead. "AND how she blew up on me yesterday. AND how she is a complete and total bitch. I can't believe that we were ever friends with her!!" she yelled furiously, catching everybody off guard. Everyone winced at her venomous voice. Nobody had ever gotten her that mad before…

**Gabriella's PO****V- (The Next D****ay)**

I am in such a cruddy mood right now. It's 7:45 in the morning, and I still have a ten minute distance before I get to school, which will make me late, and grab me detention. I had wanted to go the Scholastic Decathlon, but I woke up late. My stupid alarm clock broke. I need to do my laundry, and still no phone calls from any of the gang. I can't believe that I had been in such a great mood yesterday.

I had spent the whole day, with my father, and mother. We had a great time together, just enjoying each other's company. I had gotten close to cutting myself again after my dad had reminded me about their trip. But I held out until the moment that I had gone home. When I got there, Cameron had called again, just to make sure that I was okay. I swear sometimes, my cousin can be so overprotective. But I was glad that he called. An hour on the phone with him can do you wonders.

After I had hung up with him, I decided to get my house ready for the weekly girl's night out. It was my turn to host it. I waited for hours, and hours, but none of the girls showed up. I even check my cell phone multiple times to see if any of the others had excuses to why they didn't show up. Surprisingly, whenever I checked it, there wasn't anything different. No texts, no voice mails, no missed calls, no nothing.

I was so deep in thought that I didn't notice that I had already reached East High. I walked in, hoping to see one of my friends inside. I sighed as I looked around frantically, trying to find them. I dropped off my books into my locker, and tried to find them again. Five minutes later, I finally spotted Sharpay, Taylor, and Kelsi walking through the halls, near homeroom. I smiled, as I ran up to them.

"Hey Guys." I greeted them, but all I got in return, was a scoff from Sharpay. I was a little taken aback by this, but I decided to ignore it.

"Where were you guys yesterday?" I asked.

"Out." Taylor muttered. I raised eyebrows in confusion.

"Umm, Hello!? Shar, Tay, Kels, we had plans yesterday remember? You know, Girls' Night Out, the weekly thing between the four of us?" I asked them as they stopped abruptly, and turned around to face me.

"Exactly, we _had_ plans. It was before you showed us who you really are." Sharpay spat at me coldly, as Taylor glared at me, while Kelsi just stood there.

"Excuse me? What do you mean before I showed you who I really am?" I asked, trying to match her icy tone, but desperately failing because of the fear that I might've lost my best friends for no reason. This time, Taylor spoke up.

"Well, I don't want to come off as being a _stupid know-it-all_. But you should know what you did you slut." She said angrily. "Oh, and by the way _Montez_. Sharpay's not a blonde priss. My lovely boyfriend does not need a therapist nor does he need a haircut. And, Ryan? He doesn't even like you that way, hoe-bag." She finished coldly. She and Sharpay then stomped off into homeroom, as Kelsi hesitantly followed, only to look at me with questioning and sad eyes before she did.

_What the hell are they talking about? God, this is just a great day so far, isn't it?_

I walked inside after them, about ready to question what they'd just said. I was about to confront them, but the bell rang. I just took a front row seat instead. I was glad that it was open seating, but slightly saddened that my friends are mad at me for doing whatever I did. I turned around to look at them hoping to get an answer, but all I got, was a bunch of angry glares. I sighed deeply, before turning around in my seat again.

-------

The next couple of periods were the longest that I've ever experienced. In every class, I had at least two pairs of disappointed and angry eyes glaring at me. When the time came for free period, I was so relieved. For once, I had wanted to go to cheerleading practice. I was thinking that dancing around the gym, might relieve some of this stress, and tension in my body.

After the bell had rang signaling the end of fourth period, I walked out of AP Calculus, and went to my locker. I threw my books in, not really caring where they would land. I took out a water bottle and my gym bag and I walked into the locker room to change. After I had changed into my gym uniform, I looked in the mirror, and saw that you could still see the cutting scars on my wrists. I frowned; I suddenly started to miss the sensation that the razor would give me when I pierced it through my skin. I sighed as I took out tore two pieces of my towel, to wrap them around each wrist. I couldn't afford to have someone see them. I walked out into the gym, to see the rest of the cheerleading squad already cheering without me.

"What are you guys doing? You guys don't usually start practice without me." I said, slightly hurt. They all looked at me disappointed, matching the looks that the rest of the gang had given me all day. Melissa, my co-captain came up to me.

"Umm. Err…" she looked behind her, as the rest of the girls motioned for her to continue. She took a deep breath. "Gabriella? I don't know how to tell you this, but you're not our captain anymore, much less on the squad." She said backing away slightly afraid of what I would do. I just stared at her wide eyed.

"What? But I've been captain with you since freshman year. You can't get rid of a captain unless…" I started, as she cut me off. "Sorry Gabs, we voted you off the squad. All of us did." Melissa stated.

Audrey, another girl on the team spoke up. "You're no longer welcomed here. You can come whenever, but not during free period. You can't cheer with us anymore Gabriella." I stood there, staring at them completely dumbfounded and confused.

"O-oh. Okay. I get it." I shook my head, as I spoke again, and forced a completely fake smile on my face. "That's fine. I…I gotta go anyway. Good luck on the basketball game next week." I said, as I quickly walked out of the gym, and ran up to the secret spot that Troy and I had found a couple of years ago.

I looked out at the scenery, as multiple tears fell from my eyes. I couldn't believe it. I had lost my closest friends, and my captaincy of the cheerleading squad both on the same day. And I still don't know how, or why. I started to sob, as I started to shake. Even more tears fell from my eyes. I started to take deep breath trying calm myself. After a long while, I finally stopped.

I quickly wiped my tears, and went back down into the hallways. I walked into the locker room, and changed again. I took my bag with me, and left the school shortly afterwards. I couldn't take the enormous amount of pressure or pain anymore. I have to release it again. I just _ha__ve_ to. I sighed as I started to walk home.

When I finally arrived at my house, I looked through the window, and saw that my parents were inside. I looked down at my watch, and saw that it was only 2:00. I sighed I started to go towards the backyard. If I had gone in my parents would've yelled at me. They know better than to believe that there was another 'half day' at East High.

With a small distance left towards the top, I carefully placed my bag on the balcony, and climbed over it. I opened the door, and walked into my room. I looked through the drawer under my desk, and found what I was looking for. I took out the razor, and my diary. I went inside my bathroom, and locked the door shut.

Tears started to pour from my eyes as I opened my locket, and unlocked my diary. My hands were trembling as I started to write.

_"My life is rotting to become a living hell. My parents and Isabella are leaving tomorrow, instead of Saturday! My alarm clock broke this morning. I didn't get to go to the scholastic decathlon meeting. All of my friends are mad at me for no fucking reason. All they ever do is glare at me, or give me this damn disappointed look. I also got kick off the cheerleading squad. __I don't get it at all. __What happened to my oh-so-perfect life?!?__"_

I didn't even both writing out _"__-Gabriella.__"_ like I usually did. I looked at my writing, and saw that it looked messy, and was smudged with all of my tears. I sighed as I closed my diary, and locked it. I took the razor, and positioned myself over the sink again, as I cut myself, deeper than ever. I grimaced when the metal came in contact with my wrist. As blood started to pour out, I felt even more relief than last time. I switched hands, and cut my other wrist even deeper than before. It just felt so right. I only feel this feeling when I throw up, or cut myself. I took a deep breath before cutting deep again, up my arm, all the way to my elbow, on both arms. An immense amount of blood came rushing out, as I started to feel more pleasure. But my vision was starting to blur. Soon I fell onto the floor, everything went black.

I was awoken by a loud knock on the door. My eye flew open, and I saw that I was on the floor of my bathroom, all covered in blood. The knocking started up again, when I rolled onto back to get up, I felt a sharp pain. I looked down, and saw that the side of my waist was stabbed by the razor, and bleeding. I carefully took out the razor, as the knocking became louder. Tears started to fill my eyes, temporarily blurring my vision, as I clutched my side trying to stop the blood from making a bigger mess.

"Gabriella… Gabriella!!! Are you in there honey?" Came my mother's terrified voice. I sat up, and took in a lot of deep and quiet breaths desperately trying to make the searing pain go away before trying to respond.

"Y-yeah Mom. I was just.. I was just taking a bath… and I guess I fell asleep in here." I replied, my voice slightly shaking.

"Oh okay. Don't do that to me again Gabriella. I thought that something was seriously wrong." She stated.

"I'm so sorry." I said quietly. But she didn't hear me.

"When did you get home honey? Earlier, I had to go pick up your father from the hospital around 3. I was waiting for you, but you know your old man, he's very impatient." She said giggling slightly. "After I got him out of there, we had to go out, and get the plane tickets to get ready for tomorrow… You know the trip to New York.." She said. My heart fell to the pit of my stomach.

"I-it's fine Mom. Don't worry about it. Will you at least stay here the rest of the night before you guys leave tomorrow afternoon?" I asked, not really wanting to here the answer.

"I'm sorry Gabi, but we have to go to the hospital to get your Dad's medicine, and one last check up. Then we have another meeting with the Greens and Evans for our trip later tonight. We're taking your car if you don't mind." Before I could respond, she started to talk again. "Oh, and Gabi, can you do me a favor, and stay home tonight? The Bolton's should be bringing Izzy back tonight. And we certainly don't want her to stay home alone." She finished.

"Yeah, but you're willing to let me stay alone?" I murmured under my breath.

"What was that Gabi?" My eyes widened in shock that she might've heard me.

"Oh nothing Mom. Go, have fun. I'll talk to you later. I- I've got to finish my bath."

"Okay. We'll see you soon." she said softly.

"Love you mom." I could just feel her smiling on the other side of the door.

"I love you too Gabriella." she responded as she walked out of my room. I sighed out of relief when I saw that the bleeding had stopped. I stood up, and looked in the mirror, almost terrified of what I saw at this point.

My face was extremely pale, and thin. You could see both of my cheek bones more than usual. My hair had less color, and shine to it. My eyes were bloodshot, and had huge bags under them. Both of my arms were scarred, and scabbed. My shirt that I was wearing had a huge blood stain on it. I looked around my entire bathroom, and saw that it was covered in my blood.

I took a look at the clock above the toilet, and saw that it was only 4. I sighed as I took off my clothes, and turned on the water. I stepped into the bathtub, and let out a small scream, when I felt the pain rise towards my arms, and my side. Soon enough, the pain subsided, and I just sat there, letting the water run.

After about a half an hour of soaking, I finally got up, and decided to go to work. I wanted to show up, and ask Jim (**A/N: The manager.**), for the week off, or at least until the gang will tell me what I did! I wrapped a towel around my body. I took a couple of scrubs, and sponges, and ridded my entire bathroom of my blood. I threw them away, and picked up my diary, and razor. I opened the door, and went inside my room.

I put them back into the drawer, and got changed into my uniform. I threw on a long sleeved shirt and a hoodie just to be sure that no one would see the cuts. I went back into my bathroom, and pinched both of my cheeks to get some color into them. But when that didn't work, I just put on a whole bunch of blush. When I had looked presentable, I went to my dresser to get my keys and cell phone.

I looked up at my dresser and saw a picture of the whole gang, and me in it. The picture took place on Freshman year. We had agreed to meet up at my house in the morning, and then we'd all walk to school together, and face whatever East High has to shoot us. But before we could leave, my parents had insisted that we took a group picture.

Everyone looked so happy in it. It was a pure one, no one's smile was forced. I focused my attention to me and Troy, who stood in the middle. He had his arm around my waist, as I had mine around his neck. We were both smiling brightly. I then looked at my own face, and asked myself. Where's that Gabriella? The one who would always smile, and would definitely not cut herself? I sighed as I took what I needed and I answered my own question. She's gone, along with all of that pain that she was carrying.

**Nobody's POV- (At the diner)**

Gabriella walked into the Peanut Diner, head hanging low, hands stuffed into her pockets, and her hood on top of her head. The moment she walked six steps inside, she bumped into someone. She looked up, and saw that she was faced with a very angry Jim, hovering over her, and glaring at her. She looked at the clock hanging on the wall behind him, and sighed.

"I'm sorry I'm la-" before she could finish her apology, Jim cut her off.

"What are you doing here!?" he yelled ferociously as she stared at him in confusion.

"What do you mean? It's my shift right now." She answered softly, not wanting to attract attention towards the two.

"No it's not! I told you already. If anyone disrespects me, I'll fire them! And, seeing how I'm such a a-hole, _you're_ fired! It's as simple as that!" he exclaimed angrily.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" she responded, her own anger building up inside her. He snorted before responding to her.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about Gabriella." Jim said calmly.

"What? Is this all some huge, cruel joke? If it is, then I'm not laughing. I don't even know what I did to everyone that made them shun, and ignore me!!" she yelled as tears started to build up in her eyes and her voice started to break. "Why is everyone so mad at me?" she said quietly, as a couple of tears made their way down her face. His heart started to break at the sight of such a sweet girl crying in front of him. He took a couple of steps back, as his face softened.

"I'm not mad at you Gabriella, just really disappointed." He responded, before walking away.

Gabriella just stood there, as hot salty tears came rushing down her cheeks. She shook her head sadly before walking out of the diner. When she stood outside, she looked up at the sun that was slowly setting down below the horizon. She took her sleeve, and wiped her tears away. Her make up faded along with the tears, showing her paleness. As she was wiping, her sleeve shifted forward and backward, revealing her cuts that were all over her arms. Being so caught up in her thoughts, she didn't notice the auburn hair-colored girl with small framed glasses standing across from her.

Just a mere eight feet away from Gabriella, Kelsi was staring intensely at her friend's cuts, and paleness. Thoughts of horror ran through her mind. She thought that Gabriella's parents had become abusive, but she knew better than that. The Montez's loved everyone. They were nice and very friendly. So she ruled out all of the possibilities that someone else was doing this to her. The thought of her friend doing that to her self had seemed impossible for a moment, until it became the only reasonable explanation. Her eyes widened at the realization that Gabriella _is_ doing this to herself.

"It can't be…" she murmured under her breath.

By the time that Kelsi had decided to go and confront Gabriella, she noticed that Gabriella wasn't there anymore. She sighed as she went inside the Peanut Diner. She didn't know what she should at this new discovery. She didn't even know if her acusations were true or not. All she knew was that Gabriella was getting hurt, and if she's in depression, as Kelsi thought, she could possibly even commit suicide if anything else were to get her even more depressed.

**Troy's POV- (A couple of hours later)**

I sat down on the couch, watch Isabella, and Daniel, my little brother play around. He's around four years old. But he's very bright. I usually go to him for my problems. Though that does sound lame, he does help me out. Even though all he does is nod, or say my name and random things, or just stare at me. I would always smile at his innocence. He doesn't really know what's going on. So generally, he's always happy. He's been quite happy that Isabella's been staying her for about a week. The two are inseparable.

But they have to separate from each other tonight. My parents are making me drop Isabella off at the Montez's house. My parents have been visiting someone at the hospital all week, and Gabriella's parents couldn't come over for whatever lame reason. So Iz, was my responsibility for the night.

I looked up at the clock on the wall, and saw that it was 9 o'clock. I was almost certain that Gabriella would be home now, so I decided to take Isabella over now. I told the two to go get their jackets, as they did, I went to go get the bag of Isabella's things that she brought over, and packed it. When the two came running over to me, and almost tackling me down, I started to laugh as I led them outside and towards Brie's house.

-------

When we got to their house, it was pitch dark outside. There weren't any lights on at all. I sighed wondering if she had gone to sleep already, or she's just not home yet. I took them towards the door, as I knocked on it. After a couple minutes of knocking, I got frustrated, and I opened the door with the emergency key the Montez's had trusted me with. I took the two inside, and upstairs to Isabella's room. I was looking around, trying to see if anyone was home at all.

I had just dropped off Isabella in her room, along with Daniel, telling them to stay still while I went to see if Gabriella was in her room. I slowly walked down the hall, as I looked inside her room. It was pitch dark, you couldn't see a thing, except for the light coming from the bathroom door. I walked over, and looked inside. The scene unfolding in front of me, scared me so badly that if I were to wet my pants, I wouldn't have noticed. Brie, my Brie was sobbing hysterically, and sitting on the floor.

She ghostly pale and thin, her wrists were both bleeding. On her arms, were multiple cuts, her blood was smudged all over the place. On both of her arms, her clothing, and all over the rug she was sitting on. I looked over at the sink, it was covered in blood. And there I saw the dreaded thing, a sharp blood-stained razor sitting on the side of the sink, still wet and dripping with her blood. I just stood there wide eyed, and dumbfounded looking at her. _It can't be... _I thought. I stood there up to the point where I couldn't take it anymore, I ran. I ran into the kids' room, and saw that they were both playing some hand game. Normally, I would smile at the sight, but all I could think about was Gabriella.

I didn't know what to do. Should I tell her parents? Should I confront her about it? Should I even tell her that I saw that? Or should I just act like nothing happened, and I didn't see anything? What do I do?!? I have no clue. All I know is that Gabriella Montez is cutting herself, and doing other things that I dread. I thought as I sat down on the floor.

I made my choice. I was going to go back, knock on the door, and see if she say anything aobut it. I sighed as I made my way back towards her room. I went close towards the bathroom, and stood in front of it.

"G- Gabriella? I- I… uh brought Izzy over. Could you come out?" I said nervously looking down at my feet.

"Troy?" came her muffled response.

"Yeah Brie. It's me."

"Hold on a second." Was her response before a lot of shuffling was heard. I waited on the other side of the door for a while until the door opened, revealing a much better looking Gabriella than I had seen before. I looked at her confusedly.

_Did I really see what I thought I saw?_

"What?" she asked curiously.

**Whoa. Did Gabriella fix herself up **_**that **_**fast? Or was Troy hallucinating? Hah, you should know the answer to that.**

**D****on't really have anything to say down here. Just hope that you enjoyed it, a****nd the next chapter will be up soon enough. :) ****Have a good one****! Sorry for any mistakes, blah blah blah. Oh, and remember to review! ****:P**

**-Ilyilyx3**

_**Sneak Peak-**_

_**Cameron's POV-**_

_**School had just e**__**nded for me. It was an okay day, n**__**othing **__**un**__**usual. I was walking up the pathway to my house, when I felt a sudden vibration in my pocket. I hurried up the steps, and **__**sat down at on one of the chairs my mother had insisted we put outside for whenever we wanted to do some **__**family **__**star gazing. I set down my backpack, and took out my phone. I saw Gabriella's picture, and smiled. I pressed the accept button, and greeted her.**_

_**"Hey Ellie!"**__** I waited for a response, but all I heard was sniffling and sobbing.**__** My s**__**miled faded quickly.**_

_**"El?"**__** I asked worriedly.**_

_**"C-c-**__**cameron**__**…767…" she replied through her tears. My eyes widened at the sound of our special distress code we had made up long ago.**_

_**"I'll catch a flight and be there soon Ellie. Please don't cry." I pleaded her as she started to hiccup.**_

_**"Okay. **__**C-come s-soon Cam.**__** Bye…**__**" She **__**replied, as she hung up the phone. I went inside, and started to call the airport, to **__**grab the next**__** earliest**__** flight to Albuquerque**__**…**_

**Yay****! Super Cameron comes to the rescue. Wonder if he'll be any help****…**


	12. I Should Just Die

**Sorry for posting this up ****so ****late. I have my reason posted on my page if you haven't already read it.**** Plus, I'm writing a lot of things. You'll see what I'm talking about soon. ****:P**

**And**** I'm sorry that I confused some of you in the last chapter. I didn't mean to, I just thought that you'd know. Oh well, ****haha****. Just read this chapter, and that question will be answered. :)**

**Oh, and if anything is wrong or weird, I'm sorry. I'm really tired, I'm like zoning in and out right now, and I'm too lazy to throughly edit it. I kinda just skimmed it.**

**(Disclaimer: I don't own Hilary Duff's _Who's That Girl_, neither do I own _HSM_, or anything related to it. ;) Boo-hoo. I'll live with it. Lol.) **

**Who's That ****Girl**

**Chapter 10- ****I Should Just Die**

**Nobody's POV-**

"What?" she asked curiously.

Troy continued to stare at her, in disbelief. His eyes peered into hers. He looked deeply into them as he used to. But this time, they were different from before. They didn't have that glimmer of brilliance in them anymore. He saw this and frowned, as he looked down towards her arms. Gabriella followed his glance, and looked down at what had his attention. She saw that it was her arm, and she quickly hid it behind the wall, nearing the sink.

"W-what are you looking at Troy?" she asked nervously fearing that he might've seen her cut herself just a couple of moments ago. He simply shook his head, and tried to look in the bathroom without her noticing. Gabriella stood there nervously fidgeting with the door handle, as she was staring at him, not paying any attention to what he was looking at. She stopped her hand from it's fidgeting, and traced his face's features. She proceeded to, until she saw him looking at her again. He smiled scarcely, trying to think of something to say to get her out of the room.

"Umm, Gabriella? Can you go get me a bottle of water? I tried finding one earlier but couldn't." he said. She looked at him in confusion, before nodding her head.

"Hold on a sec. I-I wanna get a jacket or something on. It's k-kinda cold in the house." She replied, as she closed the door. Troy stood on the other side, slightly grimacing at the flashbacks of what he just saw in there. The door opened again, as Gabriella came out, wearing a large hoodie.

"I'll be back." She said quietly as she closed the bathroom door, and headed out the room, head hanging down low. Troy stood there waiting until Gabriella was actually out of the room. When the moment finally came, he took a step closer to the bathroom door, and placed his hand on top of the door handle. He took a deep breath, preparing himself for the worst. He opened the door, and it was exactly what he had seen earlier. The bathroom was partly covered in her blood. Right beside the sink, was the razor, and a lot of blush, and make up. He shook his head at this. His Brie never had to put on make up. She was beautiful the way she was. He then looked at what was sitting on the floor. It was her diary.

Tears built up in his eyes, as he saw that there was blood on the diary itself. His curiosity got the best of him, as he picked it up and started to read its contents.

_"__It's gre__at to be me right now. Don't you think diary? I just have lists and lists of great things happening in my life. The rest of the gang is completely mad at me or no reason. __Troy__ has a bitchy girlfriend. I got fired from the Peanut Diner today, and yelled at by the guy, who I__ helped get him the promotion to__ manager. I got kicked off of the cheerleading squad. My parents have to go on this stupid business trip for three months on the other side of the country, and they're taking __Izzy__ with them!__ Hah, s__aying that it'__s great to be me right now, would__ be the biggest lie that has ever come out of my mouth. Plus, saying my life is a living hell right now, would be the __largest __understatement__ ever known to man_

_Ughh__, I'm just so frustrated right now. What the hell did I do to deserve this? I've never done any__thing__ bad__…"_

As he was reading, a folded piece of paper fell out. Scrunching his face up in confusion, be bent down, and picked it up. He unfolded the paper, to reveal a music sheet titled "Who's That Girl." He started to scan through some of the lyrics as well.

_Who's That Girl_

_"There wer__e places we would go at midnight._

_There were secrets that nobody else would know_

_There's a reason but I don't know why,_

_I don't know why,__ I don't know why_

_I thought they all belonged to me._

_Who's that girl?_

_Where's she from?_

_No she can't be the one,_

_That you want,_

_That has stolen my world_

_It's not real, it's not right._

_It's my day, it's my night_

_By the way,_

_Who's that girl, living my life?_

_Oh no, living my life_

_Seems like everything's the same around me_

_Then I look again and everything has changed_

_I'm not dreaming so I don't know why,_

_I don't know why__, I don't know why,_

_She's everywhere I __wanna__ be__…"_

He flipped the paper back and forth trying to see if she had actually finished the song. He stopped when he realized that there wasn't. He stopped moving, as he stood there, just frozen in his thoughts. He couldn't grasp the concept of Gabriella hurting herself, was a result of his relationship with Melanie. _She couldn't have felt this way all along. Could she? She couldn't. She can't. _He thought.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of footsteps. He immediately set the diary back down, and went out of the bathroom to see Gabriella come in.

"Here." She said, while handing him the water bottle. He looked down, at her hand, and saw the cuts up closer. He grimaced, as he plastered a sad smile on his face.

"Are you feeling okay Brie?" he asked apprehensively.

"Uhh, yeah. Why Troy?" she replied confused.

"Gabriella." he said sternly.

"What? I'm fine Troy really. Wait, why?" she said, looking around her room, trying to avoid eye contact with him.

"Oh I don't know." She shut her eyes tightly at the loud and mad tone of his voice. "Maybe it's because you're starving yourself? Maybe it's because you're cutting yourself? Or maybe it's because you look pale like a ghost, sickly thin, and you have cuts all over your arm?!? How about that, Gabriella!?!" he yelled angrily at her, not even thinking of how he was going to explain to her how he knew all of that.

"W-what are you talking about?" She asked in a small voice.

"What am I talking about? What am I talking about? I'm talking about this Gabriella!" he retorted, while lifting up her sleeve, uncovering her cuts, and pulling her into the bathroom. He pointed at the blood and at the diary as he started to yell again.

"I'm talking about all of this! The blood? The razor? The make-up?" he exclaimed as he pointed at the items around the bathroom. He then lifted his other hand, and wiped the blush off of her face. He took his hand, and lifted her face towards the mirror.

"Look Gabriella. You're so pale, and thin. You can't even see those old rosy cheeks of yours. And what's with this?" he said, as he motioned at the razor, and her cuts. "Why are you doing this to yourself?" She clenched her fist tightly, up until the point that her knuckles were white, and her nails make deep marks in the palm of her hand.

"Why would you even care!?!?" she spat at him. "Why Troy?" She paused for a moment, as she took in a deep breath, as she shook her head. "Why now? Why are you here right now? Why weren't you here when I needed you? Why weren't you here when all of this started?" she finished in a quiet, and breaking voice. "You know, I used to think you were my knight in shining armor." She stated, slightly smiling at the memory. "But now, I know I was wrong."

His eyes widened at what she had just said. His head was filled with questions, as he was trying to sort them out; she pulled away from his grip, and took a couple of steps back. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it when he saw hers open.

"Di-" She started, but closed her mouth and shook her head sadly. "You know what Troy? I'm done with this." Gabriella said walking out of the bathroom. Troy followed her out, and grabbed her arm. She winced when she felt him grip on one of her cuts. The moment he saw her wince, as he let go of his grip on her.

"Done with what?" he asked, his voice filled with confusion.

"I'm done." She reassured herself, slowly nodding. "I'm done with you. Troy, just get out of my life." She said blankly, turning the other way.

"W-what?" he stuttered.

"Just get out Troy. Leave. Please." She replied, her own voice starting to break even more. He was about to respond, but he decided not to. He walked out of her room. She stood there staring at his retrieving figure go into her sister's room. She went to the door, and closed it shut. She leaned her back onto the door, before sliding down on it. She sat on the floor, bringing her knees to her chest, and placed her head down on her hands and knees, crying her eyes out.

After Troy had told the kids that he'd be done in a couple more moments, then he'd leave with Daniel. He sighed, as walked back to Gabriella's room, only to see the door closed. He closed his eyes, as he leaned his ear on the door, and listened to the sobs that were emitted from the crying brunette on the other side of the door. He lifted his head from the door, and lifted his hand to knock. He shook his head sadly before walking back to Isabella's room, and he walked with his little brother back to his home.

Gabriella sat still on the floor of her room, looking up at the pictures and decorations on the wall. They all brought back great memories, but with every memory, came pain. She sat there contemplating on what to do next. Her parents were leaving the next day, taking Isabella with them. She had surely lost Troy for sure after what had just happened. And her other friends wouldn't even glance at her without glaring. She sighed, as she tried to rack her mind for someone, to come and help her. Then, the solution to her problem came into her mind. Cameron.

She stood up, and turned on the lights, immediately lighting up the room to a seeable level. She looked over to her bed, and saw her cell phone. Sniffling slightly, she picked it up, and dialed her cousin's cell number. She sat there anxiously waiting for him to pick up, and to hear his voice.

**Cameron's POV-**

School had ended for me, and I had just gotten back from soccer practice. It was an okay day, nothing unusual. I was walking up the pathway to my house, when I felt a sudden vibration in my pocket. I hurried up the steps, and sat down at on one of the chairs my mother had insisted we put outside for whenever we wanted to do some family star gazing. I set down my backpack, and took out my phone. I saw Gabriella's picture, and smiled. I pressed the accept button, and greeted her.

"Hey Ellie!" I waited for a response, but all I heard was sniffling and sobbing. My smiled faded quickly.

"El?" I asked worriedly.

"C-c-cameron…767…" she replied through her tears. My eyes widened at the sound of our special distress code we had made up long ago.

"I'll catch a flight and be there soon Ellie. Please don't cry." I pleaded her as she started to hiccup.

"Okay. C-come s-soon Cam. Bye…" She replied, as she hung up the phone. I went inside, and started to call the airport, to grab the next earliest flight to Albuquerque.

-------

I plopped down on my bed sadly. I had just called the airport, and all of the flights to Albuquerque have been booked. The soonest one I could get on, was the one in another week from now. I sighed at the thought of having to tell Gabriella this. I closed my eyes as I rubbed my forehead. _This is going to be bad._

I took a deep breath as I opened my eyes, and reached for my cell phone. I opened the device, and press her speed dial number. The phone started to ring, as I was waiting for her to pick up. After the fifth ring, the ringing stopped, and her voice came out of the receiver.

"_Hey, __It'__s__ Gabriella. I can't__ get to the phone right now…_" there was a long pause as soft giggling and chuckling was heard. "_Hmm, it's p__robably because __**someone**__ won't stop tickling me._" A "_Sorry__ Brie_" was said, as her voice mail continued. "_Sorry. Umm, just l__eave a__ message, and I'll get back to you__ asap__. Bye!_"

My eyebrows rose in confusion. Gabriella would usually pick up all of the time. He looked at the digital clock placed at the top right corner of his phone, and saw that it was already eight o'clock. He sighed. _Nine in Albuquerque.__She's probably eating with her parents. __I guess I'__l__l just have to call her later. _He thought, as he went into the bathroom, and showered.

**No****body's POV- (W****ith Gabriella)**

After she had hung up the phone, she tried to calm herself down, by taking deep breaths. After a while, she wiped her tears, and looked into the mirror. She made sure that her hair and make-up were both looking properly, and that her cuts weren't showing anymore. She walked out of her room, and into Isabella's.

"Gabi!" she heard a little voice yell. She looked down, and saw her little sister smiling like crazy and waving her arms around to be picked up. Gabriella laughed slightly.

"Hey Izzy." She said, as she leaned down, to pick her up. "Did you have fun at the Bolton's and with Daniel?" Isabella nodded excitedly.

"We had tons of fun! Hey Gab?" Gabriella nodded, letting Isabella know, that she had her full attention. "Where' New York at? Mommy and Daddy says we're going there for a while."Gabriella smiled sadly at her sister's innocence.

"It's far from here Izzy. But don't worry about it. How about we get you washed up and into bed? Have you have dinner yet?" She questioned. Isabella nodded. "We had mac n' cheese. Then Jack gave us ice cream before we finished, and Laura slapped him." She laughed again. It sounded so much like a Chad and Taylor, or Kelsi and Jason moment.

"Okay. Let's get you washed up then."

-------

Her alarm changed to 6:30am before it went off, showing the fact that it was indeed time for the dreaded moment she never wanted to happen. Her parents and little sister were leaving for New York today. Gabriella groaned, as she tried multiple times, trying to hit the snooze button. When her task was accomplished, a soft knock was heard on her door. She groaned again, as she took the pillow from below her head, and positioned it to muffle out her mother's voice, that was ringing through her room.

"Gabriella Lynn Montez, you better get your butt out here right now. It's almost time to go to the airport!"

She clenched her eyes shut, wishing that they didn't have to go today. After a couple of more wake-up calls from her mother, she sighed as she got off of her bed, and looked at herself in the mirror beside her dresser.

"Okay Mom. I get it. I'll be out there soon." She replied blankly, as she started to pinch her cheeks for some color in them. She went into the bathroom, and did her morning routine. Only this time, she put on an extra amount of make-up. She threw on a hoodie over her head, grabbed her necessities, and went out of her room.

"Finally. Someone surely took their time didn't they?" her father asked sarcastically.

"Ha ha. Nathan, cut her some slack. I did the same thing long ago." her mother responded.

"Yeah. Thanks." She said nonchalantly focusing on her shoes.

"No problem Sweetie. Now let's get going!" Her mother responded as she picked up a sleeping Isabella.

"Yeah. Let's get you three out of my life for the next three months. Because I just can't wait to be alone once in my miserable life _again_." She mumbled under her breath angrily and sarcastically, as she followed her parents out to the car.

-------

"Wait, Gabi can't come with us? Why not?!?" Isabella asked frantically. She had just been notified that Gabriella was not going with them, and she wouldn't see her sister or Daniel, for three months.

"She needs to stay here and go to school Izzy." Mr. Montez replied.

"But why? I want her to come." Before anyone else could reply, Gabriella did.

"Izzy." She said in a whiny. "You should go with Mom and Dad. They'll take care of you. And if you want, I'll call you everyday. And I'll get Daniel to too." She finished. Isabella nodded happily. She smiled sadly, as she hugged her parents and Isabella again.

"Are you sure you can't stay? I really don't want you to go." She asked, trying to convince her parents to stay, the twentieth time in small period of time they'd been there. Her father sighed again.

"You know, Grandma and Grandpa weren't always there for me either." He said shaking his head. "It was business trip, after business trip. I know how you feel. And I really do, it's just we have to do this Gabi. It's a make or break decision for the whole family. We have to go." He finished.

"We hate knowing that you might even despise us if we go, but we need to go." Her mother chimed in, nodding her head.

"But-" she tried getting her point of view in, but only to be cut off once again.

"We're sorry honey. But we have no choice. We're only leaving for three months." Her dad stated.

"But I need you.." She said desperately, tearing building up in her eyes.

"Gabriella. It's only three months. It's no big deal. You've been home alone before. What's the difference now?" before Gabriella could respond, the PA system cut her off. "Flight #18435 to New York, New York, is now boarding. Repeat. Flight number 18435, United Airlines, is now boarding. All passengers please check in, and board the plane." she sighed deeply, briefly closing her eyes letting a tear slip. She reopened them. "Okay. Go. Have fun." she said quietly, as she took off running the other direction. Mrs. Montez was about to go after her, but was stopped by Mr. Montez. "Let her go Veronica. She needs this to build her own independence. She'll be on her own one of these days, she needs a practice run at it." He advised.

**Kelsi'****s**** POV- (A couple ****of hours**** later)**

I walked up the steps of the Montez household, the first time in three weeks ago. I had finally reached my decision on what to do about Gabriella. I'm going to go, to see if she really was hurting herself. If she is, then I'd have to get help. I would have to tell the others, and her parents. If she isn't then I would ask her the truth about Melanie. Something was fishy about her. How would someone get beat up, and coincidentally have a friend there to record it?

I finally reached the door, and rang the doorbell. No answered, but at the moment I knocked on it, the door opened. I stood there in confusion, before deciding to go in. I closed the door behind me, and went up stairs. I walked down the hallway, towards Gabriella's room. The door was slightly closed. I silently went inside, I knew that I was invading her privacy, but I didn't want her to kick me out before I said anything. I sighed, as I walked in her room. I still didn't see her anywhere.

My heart started to beat faster at the thought of something happening to Gabriella. I knew she was home for a fact. Her keys, and car were all there. I suddenly heard shuffling from behind the bathroom door. Curiosity got the best of me, as I went over, and opened the door a bit. My eyes widened in shock of the scene I saw in front of me. Gabriella was crying, and holding the razor above her arm that was filled with multiple cuts already.

A tear trickled down my face, when the truth came out. It finally sunk it. She really _was_ cutting herself. Before the razor came in contact with her skin, I opened the door completely and ran in.

"Gabriella! Stop!" I yelled, as I took a firm grip on both of her arms, separating them. I took the carefully took the razor from her, from much complaints coming out of her mouth, and struggling. I sighed out of relief as I threw the razor on the sink. I kneeled down beside her.

"Gabi… What's wrong? Why are you hurting yourself?" I asked softly. She only shook her head before she brought her knees up to her chest, and started crying. I sat there look at her strangely, waiting for her to stop. A couple of moments later, when she finally did, I got a clear view of her. I looked at her sadly, before putting my hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" she nodded. "I'm fine Kelsi. You can just go and have fun with your friends, and _Melanie_." She spat coldly. I was taken aback by her mad outburst, but I decided not to react to it, or take it to heart.

"Gabriella… you might not believe me, but I don't think you're the one who hurt Melanie. In fact, I don't think she was even hurt at all." I stated proudly. She looked at me with confusion.

"What do you mean you believe me?" she asked quietly.

"I just do. Can you please tell me what happened?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah." She answered unsurely as she shifted around.

"Umm, can we go into your room or something? It's really awkward talking in the bathroom. Even though we've had our fair share of bathroom chats, thanks to a certain Miss Sharpay Evans." I said sarcastically, trying to crack a joke. She laughed a little, as I laughed along with her.

"Sure. Let's go then." She said as she walked out of the room. I followed suit.

"So, what really happened Gabi?" I asked, preparing myself for more coldness from her. But instead of having her yell at me, she actually told me the whole story. From when Melanie would just magically appear, and hit her, towards her parents leaving without a clue about anything, her depressed mood, why she starving and cutting herself. She even told me about her fight with Troy yesterday, and how she didn't want him out of her life. I just sat there, trying to take this all in. What Melanie was telling us, was all a big lie. Guilt was building in the pit of my stomach. I couldn't help but think that I should've been there for her.

"Are you serious? Oh my god. I am so sorry Gabs!" I exclaimed as I hugged her. She hugged me back, but lightly. It was a weird thing. You could feel all of her bones. Her hug wasn't like it used to be before Melanie got here. I sighed as I let go of her and started to shake my head.

"I mean I thought something was up at the beginning after the diner thing. But then I let my guard down when she was nice to us." I started rambling. "And when I heard that tape, it seriously shocked me. I mean you're one of my best friends. You would never say any of those things. But when I tried defending you, I just couldn't. My stupid insecurity! It's all my fault. I should've said something sooner! You know?!?" I finished out of breath. She simply shook her head sadly.

"It wasn't your fault Kelsi. It was all inevitable." She sighed. "I guess it was all fate." She said standing up and looking the other way. I saw tears dripping from her chin. Tears couldn't help but build up in my own eyes. "It doesn't matter now. My parents and Isabella aren't here. None of the gang will talk to me. I have no friends at all Kelsi." Her voice was starting to break. "Right now, I just feel like I shouldn't be here anymore. I don't have anything else to live for… Nothing. I feel like I should just… die." She said blankly, looking at the ground through her tears. I looked at her astonished.

"D-did you just say y-you want to d-die?" I stuttered.

**Finally!**** Now that's**** a **_**proper**_** cliffy. ;)**

**Hope you guys liked this chapter. I'll be updating with the first chapter of _Mon_****_ey, Love, and Jealousy_ tomorrow, or on**** Monday the latest. :) And hopefully I can update this one faster. We'll see. ****:P**** Have a good week you guys. Remember to tell me what you think in a review! Hmm, let's aim for 15 reviews before the next update? Haha. **

**-Ilyilyx3**

**Sneak Peak-**

_**"Gabriella's cutting herself!"**_

_**"I know, I"ve seen her."**_

_**"Then what do we do?!" **_

**------- **

_**"I'm sorry. But Melanie made us…"**_

_**"What are you talking about?"**_

**-------**

_**"Montez, what are you talking about?!?"**_

_**"No Green! Don't act dumb. This was all **__**your**__** fault! **__**You**__** did this!"**_

**Whoo.**** Wonder what those could mean… ****Haha**** I wanted to try a new type of sneak peak. That one has less info**** in it****. It's more fun in my opinion. ****:P**


	13. Melanie's Plan Revealed

**Sorry for the wait you guys. TOO much work to do. ****But t****hanks for the reviews****. I really appreciate getting your feedback, etc****W****hat I'****m writing now, is ****different from wh****at was in my mind, wh****en I started, and**** wrote the trailer. It's because I write like on the moment. I don't really plan out the chapters, only the plot. If the trailer still worries you, just know ****that**** anything**** in the trailer that hasn'****t been used **_**will**_** be used**** soon. ****It j****ust ****won't be**** in t****he order it was originally going to be in****. Does that clear anything up? ****If it doesn'****t feel free to PM, and ask more questions.**** I'll answer them**

**Okay, now that that's over with, h****ere's the next chapter. :)**

**Who's That Girl**

**Chapter 11-**** Melanie's Plan Revealed**

**Kelsi's**** POV-**

"D-did you just say y-you want to d-die?" I stuttered.

She sighed heavily. "Yes I did Kelsi. Just think about it. If you were in my shoes, you'd think the same, wouldn't you?" she replied. I sat there, trying to put myself in her shoes, just as she just told me to. A lone tear traveled down from my right eye, descending over my cheek. I sighed.

"I would feel the same Gabi. But you're not alone anymore." I said, smiling, and shaking my head sympathetically. "I'm here now. And didn't you say that Cameron's coming over here from California soon?" I asked confused. She turned her body around to face me, as she shook her head sadly.

"I did. But I didn't tell you the whole story. Before you got here, I got a voice message from him, so I called him. He can't come over here until next week Kels!" she exclaimed sadly, throwing her hands up in the air, as tears started to pour from her eyes. I sighed as I looked at her pain stricken, tear stained face. I sat beside her, trying to come up with something that'll make her feel better. I looked over at the wall, and spotted a picture of Gabriella, and her family; everyone was beaming. An idea suddenly came to me. I grinned brightly, as I noticed that Gabriella was looking at me weirdly.

"Sorry." I stated glumly, looking down at my feet, trying to hide my excitement. "I just thought of umm, something that Jason told me last week." I said lying through my teeth, as Gabriella gave me an even weirder look, the one that we'd usually give Chad or Jason when they said something inappropriate.

"Okay…" I looked up at her face again.

"Gabriella, would you promise me something?" I asked nervously.

"Yeah Kels?" she responded quietly looking at the picture that was the focus of my attention merely moments ago. I looked at her happily.

"Don't give up on your life just yet. Promise me that." I told her, as she turned her head back towards me, shaking her head no.

"Kel-" I cut her off.

"Please?" I begged, grabbing a hold of one of her hands, as she opened her mouth to say something else, I interrupted her again.

"Don't say you won't have anyone. You know that's not true. You have me, Gabi." I explained, as she closed her eyes and sighed.

"I guess." She replied, as I smiled widely.

"Great! Remember that, okay Gabi?" I said, as I stood up looking ecstatic.

"Uhh, sure." She responded, opening her eyes, and wiping her tears off of her confused and hurt face. I looked down at her, as guilt started to build in my stomach again. There was a thick silence and tension in the air, as the two of us looked at each other. The silence was soon broken by her.

"Don't tell anyone about this, okay?" she requested.

"What? Why?" I questioned in confusion.

"I don't want the others to start hating you too. I don't want you to feel what I am, Kelsi. You're like my little sister. No. You are my little sister. It's my duty to protect you." She stated, as her voice started to tremble. "Even if it means facing the pain myself, and being alone."

"God, Gabriella. I know. But you don't have to be alone. Really." I told her, as I sat down, and hugged her thin, bony body again. "I know that we haven't known each other as long as you and the others have, but we do have a strong bond together. No matter what people say or do. You have me, and you always will. You don't have to face it alone. I promise you that. Everything will get better, as long as I'm around." She let go of the hug, and faced me, tearing streaming down her face, but this time, she was actually smiling for once.

"Thanks Kelsi." I returned her smile, as I held out my pinky finger.

"Friends and sisters forever?" I asked playfully, as we both giggled a little.

"Forever." She stated, as she held out her pinky, and linked them together. We soon loosened our pinky grips, and retracted our hands back to their original positions. We sat in a now comfortable silence, as I looked over at the digital clock she had on the wall. My eyes widened in realization that I was going to be late for my shift at the Peanut diner. I frowned.

"Sorry to ruin the moment, but I've gotta go Gabi. Jim's going to blow up if I'm late again." I said, as I stood up. She frowned a little, but it soon turned into a small smile.

"Okay. Don't have too much fun making out with Jason." She told me, as my eyes widened, and my cheeks went burning red.

"As much as I would like to argue with you about that statement, I really gotta go. Bye Gab." I replied, as I headed for the door.

"Remember what I told you!" she yelled after me. When I reached the door, I turned my head around and replied.

"Remember what I told you too." I retorted, as I left her room, and soon her house.

-------

When I arrived at the Peanut Diner, I immediately searched for my friends. I rounded all of them to our usual table, to tell them about Gabriella. I knew that I had told her I wouldn't tell anyone, but the others have to know. I looked around, in search of the blonde witch, Melanie, but I didn't see her anywhere. She should be glad. If I had seen her, I probably would've attacked her, and ripped her hair out for lying to us, and hitting Gabriella multiple times. I was soon brought out of my thoughts by Chad.

"Kel, why did you gather all of us over here?" he asked curiously, as the rest all nodded their heads in agreement. All except for Troy, who sat there with a blank look on his face, as he was playing with a packet of salt, and staring out the window. I stood there, fiddling with my hands. I had no idea how I was going to tell them.

"Umm, I went over to Gabi's house today." I said nervously, as everyone's eyes were on me. Sharpay scoffed, as she flipped her blonde hair back.

"Ughh, don't even talk about her Kelsi. You know what she did." Sharpay said coldly.

"I know! What makes her think that she has the integrity to insult all of us like that?" Taylor chimed in, as I winced at her hard tone.

"Don't mind them Kelsi. They're just not over that backstabber's words. What were you going to say?" Zeke asked. I took every grain of confidence I had in me, and told them exactly what she had told me merely an hour ago. I left out the fact of her cutting and starving herself. Soon, everyone's eyes had widened, as laughter soon broke out.

"And you believed her?" Jason asked, holding his side as he laughed. Chad pointed at me, and made a coo-coo sign, as Taylor laughed even harder. Zeke, Sharpay, and Ryan were all flipped on their backs, dying in laughter. While Troy was still staring at me with a blank look on his face, his eyes were filled with confusion and guilt. I sighed. It was the same as me. A couple of moments later, Troy got fed up with it, and he just slammed the table with his hand, causing everyone to stop, and look at him.

"Stop it! She's telling the truth!" he hissed, clearly angry.

"Dude, chill out. What she's saying can't be true." Chad stated, as Troy was about to reply, when Jim interrupted.

"Guys, break's over. Get to work!" he yelled in a hushed voice, and left. The others, minus Troy, all got up, and obviously, went back to their perspective jobs. I sat down again, and scooted closer to Troy.

"Troy…" I whispered, as he sat there motionless. I nudged him in his ribs.

"Troy!"

"What?!" he yelled, as he focused his attention from the salt packet towards me. I rolled my eyes at his short attention span.

"Gabriella's cutting herself!" I retorted, as he looked at me, and sighed.

"I know, I've seen her."

"Then what do we do!?" I asked him frantically. He shrugged sorrowfully, as he rested his head on top of his hands.

"I truly don't know Kelsi." He started, as he shook his head. "All I know, is that she's hurting herself, and we need to stop it before it gets too drastic."

"We have to help her!" I exclaimed sadly.

"I know. But if we want to help her, we'll need reinforcements." He stated, removing his hands from his face.

"That's what I was thinking about. Do you remember Cameron?" I asked him.

"Yeah, why?"

"She tried getting him over here. But he couldn't book any flights until next week. And seeing that we might not have until next week…" I nodded for him to continue my thought.

"and we need to get him here now?" he finished for me. I nodded.

"But how though?" he queried.

"Her parents." I answered nonchalantly, as he started to look at me weirdly. I sighed as I explained to him what I meant.

**Nobody's POV-**** (The Next Day)**

The day came and went like a big blur for Gabriella. During the morning, she had gotten kicked off the Scholastic Decathlon team, by the captain, and one of her old best friends, Taylor.

_Flashback- (This Morning)_

_Gabriella was walking inside the chemistry lab, only to be pushed out again._

_"What are you guys doing?" she asked__, as she struggled to get out of their grip_

_"Sorry, but this room is reserved for the Scholastic Decathlon team in the morning."__ Lindsey stated, putting her hands on her hips. Gabriella raised her eyebrows._

_"I __know,__ I'm on the team!" she exclaimed, while looking back at the two guys that were pushing her out. __"Ernie!?__Albert?!"_

_"Sorry Gabs, but Taylor's rules."__ Ernie told her._

_"What?!__" she sighed exasperatedly. "Taylor!" she called, as Taylor came out of the door._

_"What are you doing here? This is for the team only. And you're not on it anymore."__ Taylor said smugly._

_"What do you mean__ I'm not on the team anymore?!?" Gabriella asked confused._

_"That's it. Point blank. You're not on the team anymore."__ She told her._

_"But-__"__ Taylor cut her off._

_"But what?__ I have nothing to say to you. You could lie all you want Montez, but I will never believe __any of those stupid lies you told __Kelsi__ about."_

_"I wasn't fucking lying!"__ she exclaimed, as Taylor shook her head._

_"Whatever. Albert, Ernie, __escort__ Montez out before I kick the both of you off the team too."_

_End Flashback._

She had gotten countless amounts of glares, from all of her old friends, and of course sympathetic ones from Troy, and Kelsi. During lunch, the other cheerleaders that she'd used to lead were all sending sad looks towards her, instead of the icy ones she had received a couple of days ago when they kicked her off the squad.

The bell had rung five minutes ago, signaling the end of the school day. Gabriella was still sitting on the bench, a couple of yards from her locker. She hadn't moved since the moment she sat down. She was thinking about what could've happened, or what she could've done, whatever it was, that made her life so bad now. Sighing, she stood up, and walked towards her locker, sadly and slowly.

She spun the combination, and opened her locker. She put in her books, and took the ones that were necessary for her to use for her homework. She closed her locker door, to become face-to-face with a regretful-looking Melissa.

"Hey Gab." She greeted quietly.

"Hey." Gabriella responded.

"Umm, no hard feelings or anything?" Gabriella shook her head.

"None." She said, as she started to walk away.

"Gab?" she turned around.

"Yeah Melissa?" she asked.

"I'm sorry." Melissa said, looking down towards her feet.

"For what?" Gabriella asked.

"About the squad thing. We had no choice." She replied.

"What?"

"I'm sorry. But Melanie made us…" Melissa trailed off.

"What are you talking about?"

"You know how my parents are the presidents of the company on Sixth Street of Lincoln Park?" Gabriella nodded, showing she understood.

"And how most of the squad's parents' work at the companies around there?" she nodded once again.

"Melanie's parents own all of them. She came in here the other day, and threatened us. If we didn't kick you off of the squad, and be mean towards you, she'd get our all of parents fired. And we can't take that big of a hit Gab. All of us need the money." The blonde finished sadly.

"So this was all Melanie's fault?" Gabriella questioned angrily.

"Yeah, but that's not all." Melissa told her.

"What else could there be Lis?"

"A little after she told us that, I overheard her talking on the phone with some Stacey person. Melanie told her some plans she had for you." Melissa told the brunette in front of her.

"What did she say?" she asked curiously.

"Do you have time?" Melissa asked. Gabriella nodded.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Come over here. I'll tell you there." Melissa replied, leading the two towards the bench that Gabriella was previously sitting on.

"So?"

"Well…" Gabriella focused her attention on her friend, as she told her what Melanie had said on her phone call.

-------

Gabriella stomped down the sidewalk angrily, not believing that all of her pain and misery was because of _her_. It was all because of Melanie's jealousy over Troy. She couldn't believe that one single girl could stoop so low, and do what Melanie did just over a guy. What she couldn't believe the most, was that she and all of her friends fell for the blonde's stupid plan.

She walked into the park once again, and sat down on the same bench she sat on, as she did on her last visit. She sighed loudly, and closed her eyes, pushing back tears, as she clenched her fists down tightly. Her nails dug into the palm of her hands, leaving deep marks. Her knuckles were slowly turning into an unnatural white. She took in deep ragged breaths trying to calm her anger, and frustration.

She opened her eyes, and unclenched her fists. She examined her hands, as she grimaced at the severe marks she had made. They were starting to bleed, but strangely, she didn't feel anything. She only started to feel stress releasing from her again. She shifted herself on the bench so that she was slightly hugging her knees. She ran both of her hands halfway through her hair, as she gripped it tightly. _No, I can't cut myself. Not right now. _She thought.

She sighed as she stood up, and unraveled her hands from her hair. She looked down at her shoes, and she started to walk towards the direction of her house. Suddenly, she felt someone bumping into her, almost making her small, thin body, fall from the impact. She looked up and was staring in emerald eyes, and blonde hair once again. Her eyes turned cold, as she started to clench one of her fists again.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't little Miss Montez again." Melanie stated smugly, as Gabriella took in a deep breath.

"What the fuck do you want Green? To ruin my life more than you already have?!" she spat out at the blonde. Melanie scoffed.

"Moi?" the blonde questioned, placing a hand on her chest. "Do such a thing? Never." She finished, shaking her head coldly. She started to look around. "And by the looks of it, your life has gone down the drains!" she suddenly exclaimed happily throwing her hands in the air, as she shrugged. "It wasn't my fault at all. It was all done by you." she stated icily, glaring at the brunette before her, and poking her chest, when she said the last word.

Gabriella felt anger rising inside of her, as she glared back at the blonde in front of her. She couldn't help but wonder what Melanie trying to do. Was she just begging to get her ass kicked or something? She was ready to punch Melanie, but she chose the better judgment, and decided not to. _Yet._ She took in another deep breath, as she shook her head angrily.

"It's not my fault. It's your's!" she yelled at Melanie furiously. Melanie smirked, as she feigned her stupidity.

"Montez, what are you talking about?!?" the blonde retorted innocently, rolling her eyes. Gabriella shook her head feverishly.

"No Green! Don't act dumb. This was all _your _fault! _You_ did this!" she exclaimed madly, as Melanie stood there, twirling her finger around a strand of her hair.

"What are you talking about Montez?" Melanie questioned.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about." Gabriella hissed. "_You_ did this to me! _You_ made my life a living hell." Melanie laughed fakely.

"Took you long enough. Geez, I thought you were supposed to be a genius Montez. But I guess you're not." She stated cockily, as she stopped moving her finger. "Wasn't my plan just amazing?" she asked rhetorically, as she stepped forward. "You gave me exactly what I needed. All from day one."

"What do mean I gave you what you needed?"

"Don't you remember? You called me a self absorbed bitch, and slapped me? Hah, little do you know, that that was the one thing I needed." The blonde stated absentmindedly. "I taped it, and brought it to my uncle.. You know David Greter?" she bragged. "He took that recording, cut out all of the useless stuff, and cloned the soundwaves of it. After that, I just recorded myself saying all of those mean things, but it came out as your voice." She stated pointing at Gabriella. "I told him to add some sound affects and boom! We got mean and bratty Miss Montez." She exclaimed throwing her hands up in the air for dramatic affect. Gabriella stood there, clenching her fists even harder than she was before. She raised her hand up in the air, as she was preparing herself to punch Melanie, until the blonde spoke again.

"But that was only the beginning." Gabriella lowered her hand down, as she unclenched it, and clenched it again; she found that it helped her calm herself as Melanie continued to talk.

"When I had Troy all to myself on that week, I did my research. I asked him about you, you life, your personality, your family, your parents' jobs." She scoffed. "When I found out that your parents were mine's business partners, I almost fainted. As if! But whatever. It all worked into my favor. They were planning a business trip. One that lasts for three months. They could've gone for all I care. I'm used to it." She shrugged as she smirked.

"But from what Troy told me, you weren't. You'd even care if your stupid little sister left for a while." She rolled her eyes. "I got my parents to make yours' go. Smart huh? But that's not all." She stated knowingly. "My plan wasn't even close to being finished there. I went back to my uncle, and got another fake recording slamming that _Tim_ guy from the Peanut diner. Poor sap, he believed me too, then bam! you were fired. And here we are now. I threatened your stupid little cheerleader followers to kick you off their team. You cry, and I smirk at you." She finished as she laughed menacingly. "You pathetic little life was so easy to sabotage Montez. I have even more in store for you..."

**Melanie's plan is revealed. Anyone surprised or was expecting it?**

**Hehe****, anyone like the ****Kelsi****-Gabriella moment I threw in there? I did. I just felt like there aren't enough ****Kelsi**** and Gabriella friendship moments out there. They're all either about Gabriella and Taylor, or ****Sharpay**** and Gabriella. Ehh, ****My opinion.**** But what'd you guys think about this chapter? I ****kinda**** like it. ****Hah,**** I don't know. ****Insecurity.**

**Mistakes? Some, I think. Haha. Let's try for another 15 before the next update? Promise I'll be on time this time. Hope you guys had a great Halloween!  
**

**-Ilyilyx3**

**Sneak Peak-**

_**"Please, just give me two minutes to talk**__**.."**_

_**"Fine.**__** Two minutes. That's all."**_

_**-------**_

_**"**__**Uncle Nathan? Could I take your private jet to visit Ella?"**_

_**"**__**Why?**__**"**_

_**-------**_

_**"Did you call him?"**_

_**"Yeah."**_

**Haha.**** Don't you hate those types of peaks? You never get what's going on!**


	14. A Real Nose?

**This time, my late updates this time, ****are **_**not**_** because of my laziness. They're because of school**** again****. :P ****Anyway, just wanted to say sorry to anyone who's name is Melanie. ****Didn't mean to h****ave your name be hated so much.**

**(Disclaimer: I don't put this in every chapter, but you should know by now. Nobody owns HSM. ****Only the stupid Disney people.**** a****sdfghjkl****; Can't they ****learn to ****share**** with us?)**

**Who's That Girl**

**Chapter 12- ****A Real Nose?**

**Nobody's POV-**

"You pathetic little life was so easy to sabotage Montez. I have even more in store for you..." she finished, still smirking. Gabriella pretended to look sad, as she looked to the ground, making Melanie smirk even more. The brunette took her left foot, and stomped it right on top of Melanie's, digging her heel of her shoe into the blonde's toes. Melanie yelped painfully, as she jumped up and down.

"What the fuck Montez?!?" She yelled angrily, as she hopped on one foot, holding, and grasping the other one in her hand. Gabriella simply smirked at the blonde.

She then turned her smirk into a glare, and was directed at the girl right in front of her, as she stepped closer to her, and punched her right in the nose. Melanie's nose immediately emitted a loud cracking sound, as it started to bleed heavily. The blonde held it tightly with both hands, trying to prevent herself from showing any emotion or pain she was currently feeling. Gabriella smirked at her before back away two steps, gasping.

"It's actually real? Oh my god!" she exclaimed sarcastically, as she rolled her eyes. "Oh well. Now you can go get a nose job, to go along with the rest of your fake body." She stated as she gasped again, putting her hand in front of her mouth. "Now you'll match! Yay, you!!" she yelled in sarcasm, once again, as she jumped up and down, clapping her hands together excitedly, before resuming to her cold glare on the blonde in front of her. "Bye Green. Have fun getting even more plastic surgery. You'll need it!" she finished, waving, as she walked away.

"I'll get you back Montez, just you watch…" Melanie muttered under her breath, but her voice came out squeaky since she was still holding her nose.

-------

"Hello?" the voice answered, as Troy and Kelsi breathed a sigh of relief.

"Cameron, it's Troy."

"Oh great. Cya." Cameron replied sarcastically, as he hung up.

"What was that all about?" Kelsi asked Troy curiously, as he shrugged in response.

"I don't know!" he suddenly exclaimed. Kelsi groaned.

"Ughh, here try again." She replied, as she handed him her phone.

"Fine." He mumbled under his breath, while dialing Cameron's number again.

"Hello?" he greeted again.

"Cam-" Troy started, but was interrupted by him.

"What do you want Troy?" he asked coldly, as Troy winced at his hard tone.

"To talk." He responded.

"Why would you want to talk to me, when you have your precious little _Melina_?" Cameron retorted, icily.

"Come on, can't we just talk like we did before?" He questioned sadly, realizing why Cameron was acting so cold towards him.

"No."

"Please, just give me two minutes to talk." Troy pleaded, as he sighed.

"Please Cameron.. It's about Brie." Contemplating on what to do, Cameron reluctantly agreed.

"Fine. Two minutes. That's all." He told him.

"You see," Troy started.

"One fifty-five, one fifty-four…" Cameron counted to annoy him, as he took a water bottle out of his refrigerator.

"Cam! Stop it. It's Kelsi, _and_ Troy, but that doesn't really matter, just listen to us, okay?" She argued.

"Whatever. Go. You have one forty-six left." He replied boredly, as opened his bottle, and rested it on his mouth, ready to quench his thirst. Troy and Kelsi looked at each other in defeat. She gulped, as she opened her mouth.

"Gabriella's cutting herself!" she exclaimed desperately trying to get his attention, as he spit out his water.

"WHAT!?!?" he yelled, as he fell out of his chair, eyes widened.

"Do we have your attention now?" She asked, smirking.

"Just fucking tell me already!" he retorted, as he got up, and started pacing around nervously.

"Okay…"

-------

Many emotions ran through Cameron's head, as he listened to Kelsi and Troy tell him, the events that were currently occurring in his cousin's life. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know if he should be mad, that she had lied to him. If he should feel sad for Gabriella. He didn't even know if he should feel guilty for letting this happen to her. He did make a promise to look out for her, with their grandfather before he passed away, years ago, before his family moved to California. He shook his head and sighed frustratedly, as he listened to the two finished their story.

"Hey Cam? Are you still there?" Kelsi asked softly as she wiped her eyes of tears that had fallen, when she told her story. He started to pace again, as he answered her.

"Yeah, I am Kelsi." He replied, as he ran his hand through his hair. "What are we going to do?"

"Kelsi came up with a plan to solve your transportation problem." Troy stated carefully. Cameron's ears perked up almost immediately.

"And that is?"

"You can come over here using her dad's private jet." She answered proudly.

"That might be a little tough, guys." He told them sadly.

"Why?" Cameron sighed sorrowfully.

"I kind of had a fight with him a couple of days ago." he replied.

"What did you do now, Cameron?" She queried disappointedly.

"I… uh- called him a bastard." He told them quietly, as they gasped.

"What?" Kelsi and Troy yelled out.

"Not intentionally!" Cameron defended. "He called me before he left for New York, and I was just fed up that he wasn't going to stay and comfort Gabriella, and it just… slipped."

"How exactly did it slip?" she questioned carefully.

"Well, it kind of came out as, 'You're such a mother fucking bastard!' But that was when I thought he had hung up already…and yeah."

"Ughh, whatever you did Cameron, you're going to have to fix. We have no time for your petty little problems with your uncle." She scolded, as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah dude, just call him, make amends, and ask for the jet. We need you over here for Brie." Troy reasoned.

"Whoa. You're actually caring for her now? I thought it was all about _Mel__ina_." Cameron replied smugly.

"It's Melanie."

"Whatever." he responded plainly, as Troy balled up his fist, ready to yell. Kelsi rolled her eyes.

"Stop it you two babies! Cameron, go call Nathan already. You and Troy can talk about his love life AFTER we save Gabriella from depression, and hurting herself!" she yelled, trying to get her point across.

"I know. I'm going now. Thanks for telling me. Talk to you soon Kels." She smiled, as she responded.

"Bye Cameron."

"And Troy?" he called.

"Yeah?"

"It's Melina!" he exclaimed. Troy was about to respond, but Cameron had already hung up.

-------

"Hello? Nathan Montez speaking." Nathan greeted, as Cameron nervously cleared his throat.

"Hi Uncle Nathan. It's… umm, Cameron." He responded.

"Oh. Hello Cameron. What would you like?" His uncle questioned suspiciously.

"I just wanted to apologize for calling you a…yeah last phone call." He stated, as Nathan coughed slightly.

"It's okay, son. I knew you only meant to protect Gabriella."

"Great. I didn't want things to be tense between us or anything." Cameron confided.

"Yes, but I'm guessing that that's not the reason you called?" Nathan guessed, as Cameron sighed.

"Umm, could I ask for a favor?" he asked.

"Go ahead. I'm all ears Cameron." Nathan reassured him.

"Uncle Nathan… could I take your private jet to visit Ella?" he requested.

"Why?" Cameron prepared himself for a debate with his uncle.

"It's just-" he started, as Nathan cut him off.

"No, you didn't let me finish. Why.. not? Gabi could use some company. I'll send Doug for you. You remember him right?" Cameron breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah. He's cool. When would he be able to get here?" He responded.

"Probably tomorrow, the next day the latest. There's been snow, and blizzards here in Brooklyn. It's hard to travel in this weather, you should know that." Nathan explained.

"That' great! I-umm... uhh-, not the blizzard thing. But the arrival time, and such." Cameron rambled, as his uncle chuckled light-heartedly.

"I know. Just make sure to take good care of Gabriella, and the jet, Cameron."

"Yes Uncle."

"Good. Now I have to go. Your aunt wants me to spend time with her and Izzy." He rationalized.

"Okay. Send my regards to Aunt Veronica and Iz too." Nathan smiled on the other side of the line.

"I will. Likewise to your parents and brother, Cameron."

"Will do. Bye Uncle Nathan." Cameron parted to his uncle.

"Bye Cameron." He smiled in triumph, as he pumped his hands in the air. He grinned brightly at the thought of seeing his cousin again, and being able to help her in her time of need, like she did for him long ago. He flipped his cell phone open again, and called Troy.

"Did you call him?" he greeted eagerly.

"Yeah."

"And?" Troy questioned slightly worried.

"Kelsi's plan worked! I should be in Albuquerque in two days, or sooner." Cameron answered happily.

"Great!"

"Now, tell me the truth Troy, how do you really feel about Gabriella?" he questioned curiously, as Troy's eye bugged out.

"W-wh-what?" he stuttered.

"You heard me."

"I- I… don't know. I mean Melanie's my girlfriend and all, but Gabriella comes first. I actually love her." Troy reasoned, as Cameron looked at his phone unbelievingly.

"Wait, but if you love Gabriella, then why did you shun her? Why are you with that Melanie bitch?" he questioned in confusion. Troy smirked, as he thought his way out of the question he did not want to answer.

"Hah, it's Melanie." He said cockily.

"Shut up, and answer the question Troy." Cameron replied, running out of patience, as Troy sighed on the other line.

"Our parents wanted us together, and I didn't want to disappoint them. I just tried to love Melanie, since I was losing hope for Brie feeling the same way, and it just happened. The world I knew was completely turned upside down." Troy explained, extremely perplexed himself. "Gabriella was the antagonist, and Melanie was the protagonist." He stated as he sighed. "I didn't know what to do, choose the love of my life, or the person that my parents matched me up with. It was-" he was about to finish, when Cameron cut him off with a chuckle.

"You've been watching too many chick flicks since I've last seen you man. Get a guy movie, and be a man!" Cameron joked, as he laughed.

"Shut it Cam."

"Hey, just trying to lighten up the mood." He responded, shrugging his shoulders.

"Whatever. I'm just glad that we're going to be able to help Gabriella out. I don't want anything to happen to her." Troy said, sighing downingly.

"Me neither."

-------

"Come on… pick up Gabi." Kelsi muttered to herself, as she paced around her room. She had just left Troy's house, and on her way to her own home, when she saw Melanie driving by, with a bloody face, and hands. She was worried that Melanie had done something to Gabriella, or something worse. After the fourth ring, Gabriella finally picked up.

"Hello?" she answered, as Kelsi immediately stopped pacing, extremely glad that her friend picked up.

"Hey Gab!" she greeted.

"Hey Kelsi." Gabriella returned.

"Have you seen Melanie lately?" Kelsi questioned nervously.

"Umm, just about an hour ago. Why?" The brunette replied.

"Nothing. What happened? Did she hit you or something?"

"Well, she started to get in my face, and I just punched her. But that isn't even the shocker." Gabriella replied, as she sat up on her bed.

"Why, what is?"

"I think I broke her nose." She answered.

"What?!? She has a real nose?" Kelsi asked in disbelief, as Gabriella giggled.

"It's seriously real. I heard a cracking noise too." She responded, as she nodded her head.

"B-but she's like plastic surgery queen!" Kelsi exclaimed, shaking her head.

"Hah, I know!" Gabriella replied, as she laughed, soon Kelsi joined her.

"I still can't believe you punched her…and she has a real nose." She said, after the laughter between the two had softened.

"Is that the only reason you called?" The brunette questioned, looking down at her shoes.

"Sort of. Because on my way back, I saw her driving by, and I thought she did something to you, and I was just worried for you." Her friend explained, as she giggled softly.

"Oh, don't worry about it Kelsi. I'm okay. Not happened." Gabriella reassured her.

"Yeah, I know that now I also want to tell you that C-"She started, but was cut off my another voice. "Uggh, sorry Gabi, my mom's calling me. How about I come over later, and we'll hang out like old times?" she questioned. Gabriella smiled slightly, as she responded.

"Sure. Sounds like fun."

"Okay. Talk to you later Gabs."

"Bye Kelsi."

"Bye Gabi." Kelsi told her friend, as she hung up.

Gabriella closed her cell phone, as she gently laid it on her nightstand. She sat on the edge of her bed, and laid down, looking up at the ceiling. Her mood wasn't as morose and down casted as it was before, and she was glad of that. She had a small amount of happiness in her. She had just purged unintentionally a couple of moments ago, but she couldn't have felt better. Her mood rose, as she thought about Melanie's probably broken nose. For the first time in a long while, she was feeling okay. All she had to do now was to clear her name, and get her life back to the way it was, and she would be content again. She sighed as she heard the doorbell ring.

She slowly got off of her bed, and went downstairs to answer the doors. The doorbell was soon enhanced with the sound of pounding on the door. Gabriella shook her head, and she hurried her way to the door. She didn't bother to look through the peephole to see who it was. She presumed that it would be Kelsi again. She opened the front door, and was immediately greeted with a slap on the face.

"You bitch!"

**Cliffy! (: Who slapped Gabriella? Hint: It's not Melanie.**

**Don't hate me for that c****liffy**** or the shortness of this chapter****. I was going to include the next part****, but my brother's kicking me of****f my laptop, since his 'doesn't**** work****'****. Pftt****, yeah r****ight. ****Haha,**** have a great ****one****! Let's try to reach 165 reviews before the next update? I****t shouldn't be that hard to reach for you guys. (;**** And it'll probably give me enough time to write. We'll see.**

**-Ilyilyx3**

**Sneak Peak-**

**"What the hell was that for?"**

**"Melanie."**

**-------**

**"Just go die Gabriella!"**

**"Maybe I will…"**

**-------**

**"Brie? ****Brie?"**

**"Wake up Gab****!"**

**"God, you're scaring us. Stop joking ****around ****Gabi!"**

**-------**

**Haha****, the sneak pe****ak is so agonizing this time, is****n'****t it? d:  
**


	15. Brokenhearted

**You guys are so mean! ****When I first set the goal, I thought that it would give me a good three, four days to write. But then when I checked my account ****on Tuesday, there were already 174! ****And now, you guys are making me feel bad for not being able to update faster. God, when will torturing the auth****or end?!? ****Haha.**** This would've been up then, but I was behind on a lot of the schoolwork, and I had to catch up with the curricular. ****Okay, you don't really need to he****ar my problems, s****o ****here'****s the next chapter. (:**

**Who's That Girl**

**Chapter 13-**** Broken****hearted**

**Nobody's POV-**

"You bitch!"

Gabriella looked up, and saw a red faced Stacey hovering over her. She clutched her stinging cheek in anger, as she pushed the blonde in front of her, out of her face.

"What the fuck was that for?" she yelled angrily, as Stacey smirked.

"Melanie." She answered in a 'duh' tone, as she turned around. "Zeke!" she called. He appeared from the corner, and grabbed Gabriella by her wrists, immediately making her wince, and yelp in pain.

"What are you doing?!?" she exclaimed, frantically trying to get him to let go.

"Just come with us Montez." Zeke stated coldly, as his grip on her tightened. She reluctantly walked along with them. When Stacey was preoccupied, with filing her nails, he leaned down to Gabriella, and started to whisper in her ear.

"Why'd you do it Gabs?" he questioned, as her face scrunched up in confusion.

"Do what?" she replied.

"Hurt Melanie." He claimed, as he leaned up again. Gabriella took a moment to think about, and was contemplating on telling him the truth or not. She opened her mouth to talk again, but was interrupted, when they abruptly stopped from walking any further. She soon felt another slap to the face, as soon as Zeke had let go of her. She looked up, and saw Taylor looking at her disappointedly and angrily.

"Why does everyone keep on slapping me?!?" Gabriella asked rhetorically, throwing her hands up in the air, as Sharpay came up to her.

"Look." The blonde stated blankly, as she motioned to her right. Gabriella turned her head. Her heart started to crack, and tears weld up in her eyes, as she saw the sight in front of her. Melanie was bawling and crying her eyes out, as Chad had his arms around her, rubbing her back, in a brotherly way. She listened to him comfort Melanie, the same way he used to do for her.

"It's okay Little Sis," he told her. "It's going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay."

She took a deep breath as she held in her tears, and turned back to Sharpay and Taylor. "Is that supposed to mean something to me?" she asked in a monotonous tone, glaring at them, as they scoffed.

"You did that to her." Sharpay stated, shaking her head, as she walked over to Melanie, and comforted her.

"What the hell is wrong with you Gabriella? Can't you get over yourself for one second, and stop hurting all of the innocent people?!?" Taylor exclaimed, taking a step closer to Gabriella, as she scoffed.

"I only hurt her! Nothing else. It was only a freaking punch to her stupid nose!" She argued, as Taylor snorted, shaking her head.

"You did more than that. You hurt all of us. What happened to the Gabriella we knew and loved?" she inquired sadly, as Gabriella took a step back, looking towards the ground.

"She's still here." She whispered, as she looked up at the girl in front of her again. "I'm still here." She stated, and pointed to herself. "Don't you get it Taylor?! I didn't do anything, but punch her! Everything else, was all her fault!" she exclaimed angrily, as she pointed to the blonde.

"Yeah right. Like you can explain that." Taylor told her sarcastically. Gabriella nodded her head.

"That's the thing, I can. You just have to let me!"

"Fine. Go, I'm all ears." Taylor claimed, as she held her hands up in defeat. "In fact; everyone, gather around. Get ready to be amused. Montez, is going to tell us how this was all Melanie's fault." She finished, rolling her eyes. The rest, except for Chad and Melanie, came over, and surrounded Gabriella, all of them sending looks of hatred to her. Sighing, she told them exactly what Melanie had told her earlier. At the moment she finished, everyone had a look of disbelief on their faces, as Melanie simply cried louder.

"You expect us to believe that?" Sharpay asked coldly.

"What a stupid lie that was." Jason stated, shaking his head. "We thought you were better than that Gabriella." Initial shock became her facial expression, but soon enough, sadness started to take over. '_They still don't believe me…__'_ she thought.

"It's true though!" she argued, falling down to her knees, looking at the ground, her eyes builded up with tears. The rest looked at her hopelessly.

"No, it's not. Stop being such a liar, Gabriella. It's pathetic on you." Ryan hissed.

"Why won't you guys believe me?!?" she asked. "I didn't do anything. It was all HER!!!" she yelled furiously slamming her hands on the ground.

"Yeah right. Get out of our lives Gabriella. She didn't do anything." Zeke stated apathetically, as he shook his head sadly at her.

"Yes she did! You have to believe me!" Gabriella argued, as she looked up. Jason snorted.

"No, we don't. And we never will." He retorted, annoyed.

"But I'm your best friend. We've known each other since we were in diapers! Are you just going to believe some girl who walked into our lives just a couple week ago?!?" she questioned, as tears started to trail down her face, as she took in a deep breath. "I can't believe you guys. You're supposed to be my friends. You're supposed to have _my_ back. Not hers!" Taylor rolled her eyes.

"Were." She stated. "You _were_ one of our best friends. But that was before you proved that you're not. Meanwhile, with Melanie, we may have had a rough start with her, but she's proved herself to be a better person than you." Taylor finished, as Gabriella shook her head.

"It's all a lie though! There's not real about her! Once I'm out of the way, she'll just turn her back on you guys too." She told them stubbornly.

"No, she won't. She will not stab us in our backs, like you did." Sharpay stated, shaking her head. Gabriella groaned.

"But I didn't. I didn't do anything wrong. What do I have to do to make you guys believe me?!?" she asked, running her both of her hands through her hair, and clutching it.

"Nothing. You've already made yourself loud and clear. You're untrustworthy to us." Taylor said sternly.

"It-it wasn't me though." She stuttered, as her voice started to break. "Melanie-" she started, but was cut off by Sharpay's scoffing.

"It's one thing to feed your lies to Kelsi. It's another to be a two faced person to us, but blaming it on Melanie? That's just low Montez." Sharpay told her coldly, as she rolled her eyes.

"What did she ever do to you?" she asked rhetorically. "Oh, I'll answer that. Nothing. She didn't do anything to you. You're just trying to take her down with you." The blonde finished icily.

"I'm not! I'm actually telling the damn truth!" Gabriella yelled desperately, as Sharpay rolled her eyes.

"You know what? Just go die Gabriella! None of us will care." She stated blankly, crossing her arms on her chest, and rolling her eyes. Gabriella blinked back her tears carefully, as opened her mouth to speak.

"Maybe I will…" she said quietly, as her voice trembled.

"Great! Then we could all live happily ever after." Sharpay exclaimed, as she smirked. Gabriella sighed tearfully, as she went over to the still crying Melanie. She wiped her tears, and blinked back any new ones that were appearing, as she took in a deep breath.

"Congratulations Melanie." She started, as she sniffled. "You've won. You've taken everything I have, from me." Gabriella stated, shaking her head, as she walked away.

-------

Gabriella walked up the pathway, and into her house. Before closing the door, she leaned down, and took the spare key from under the welcome mat. She threw it on the coffee table in the living room, and went upstairs. She walked down the hallway, and into her parents' room. She traveled inside of their bathroom, and looked inside of the medicine cabinet.

She found the two things she was looking for; a bottle of sedative pills, and another one of her dad's razors. She walked out of her parents' bathroom, down the hallway, and into her room. She set her two items on her dresser, as she pulled out the last drawer. She took out a scrapbook that she and her friends had made, and still added to every once in a while.

She sat on the floor, and looked through all of the wonderful memories they had together. Tears built up in her eyes again, blurring her vision. She let the tears fall, and she continued to flip through the pages. She stopped on the next empty page in the book, as she looked in the next drawer, and took out her diary. Gabriella took off her locket and bracelet from the drawer, and attached them together. She opened the compartment in the back of her diary, and took out a picture. It was one of her and the whole gang. Just about a week before Melanie came along.

She sighed as she quickly stuck it in the scrapbook, and wrote something on the bottom of the page. She then locked the diary again. She threw both things onto her bed, and threw her locket and bracelet on the window of her balcony. She walked back to her dresser, and took the pills and razor in her hands. She went inside her bathroom, and popped the whole bottle in her mouth. She swallowed them dry. She took the razor, and started to cut herself again.

She felt all of her energy being drained from her, as the blood poured out, and leaked onto the floor. Her eyelids started to become heavier, as her vision started to blur. She used as much of her energy she had left, and focused her attention on the picture of her and the gang, on her dresser. It being the last thing she saw. As she slipped into the blackness, and the state of unconsciousness, she heard a faint knocking downstairs.

-------

"Gabi! It's me, Kelsi. Open up!" Kelsi exclaimed, while knocking on the door in front of her.

"Gabi… Gabriella?!?" she yelled, as she continued to knock on the door. She rang the doorbell, and still no response. Her eyes widened in realization that Gabriella might've cut herself again. Many horrible thoughts raced through her head. _'Oh God.__ Not now!__ We were so close to fixing it!__'_ she thought in her head, as she frantically tried to find the spare key that was usually hidden under the welcome mat.

"Damn it! It's not there." she cursed under her breath. "What am I going to do now?!?" she asked herself, as she searched her head for any solutions. Suddenly, one perfect idea came to her.

"Troy!" she exclaimed, she took out her cell phone, and immediately called him.

"Hello?" he greeted. She sighed out of relief.

"Troy! You've got to help me." She stated.

"Why, what's wrong?" he questioned curiously.

"I'm at Gabi's house, and she's not answering the door." She answered, as she started to pace around.

"So? She might not be home." He replied. She stopped pacing abruptly.

"No! She knew that I was coming over. She would never just leave without telling me." Kelsi argued.

"Use the spare key under the welcome mat." Troy told her, as she sighed annoyed.

"I already did that Troy. It's not there! That's why I'm calling you." She stated. "God, sometimes you're dumber than Jason and Chad combined." She muttered under her breath.

"Ahem, I heard that." He said. "I just don't get why you need me. Just call her or something." He suggested, as she hit herself on the forehead.

"Ughh, I've already tried that too." He opened his mouth to reply, but she interrupted him.

"And before you asked, yes I have knocked and rang the doorbell. I just need you to climb up her balcony, and see if she's in there or not. I swear; I have this gut feeling that something bad happened." She confessed, as he sighed.

"I'll be over in a few." He replied, as he hung up.

Kelsi sat down on the steps in front of the Montez house impatiently. Four minutes later, and after multiple texts, all consisting of the words 'hurry' and 'up', Troy finally arrived. Kelsi ran over to him, and dragged him over towards the back yard.

"Jeez, what's the rush Kelsi?" he asked her, jokingly.

"Just go already!" she exclaimed, as she shoved him closer to the tree. Troy rolled his eyes, as he mumbled under his breath.

"I'm going; I'm going Miss Bossy Pants…"

Troy climbed up the tree expertly, carefully maneuvering over any new branches or leaves that had grown since he was last there. He finally reached the banister of the balcony, as he carefully jumped over the railing. He regained his balance, as he looked through the windows. No one was inside. But from under the bathroom door, was a light.

He quietly opened the door, and heard a small clinking noise. He looked down to see what made it, but he didn't see anything but leaves on the floor. He simply shrugged it off, as he made his way inside her room. He looked around, and heard a quite thump from inside the bathroom. He panicked, thinking that she would catch him, and be even angrier with him. He quickly ran out of her room, and down the stairs to open the door for Kelsi.

"Is she here?" Kelsi queried immediately, as he nodded.

"Yeah, I heard a noise from the bathroom upstairs."

"Was it shuffling or something?" she questioned.

"No, more like a thud on the ground or something." He answered, shrugging.

"Oh god… Come on Troy!" she ushered, as she pulled him by his arm, up the stairs. He looked at her with questioning eyes.

"Whoa, what are you doing? She's going to catch us!" he exclaimed, as she sighed.

"No she won't." she explained, as he looked at her weirdly.

"Why not?" he asked, as they reached Gabriella's room. She let go of him, as she went to the bathroom.

"Because…" She trailed off, as she opened the bathroom door. Her eyes widened in shock, and horror.

"Because what?" he asked, as he walked in after her, stopping dead in his tracks.

"Oh my god!" His eyes widened in shock, as he felt his heart stop, and himself paling. He looked at Gabriella lying on the floor, covered in blood. Beside her, were a blood-streaked razor, and an empty bottle of sleeping pills. He kneeled down beside the brunette; he shook her gently.

"Brie? Brie?" he called, as he sat her up on his lap. Blood started to trickle from Gabriella, as it seeped into his own clothing.

"Wake up Gabi!" Kelsi cried, as she started to sob uncontrollably, and hiccup. She kneeled down beside them, as Troy shook his head in disbelief.

"Brie, stop playing. It's not funny!" he exclaimed frustrated, as tears started to build up in his eyes.

"God, you're scaring us. Stop joking around Gabi!" Kelsi yelled angrily, as she slammed her hands down on the countertop. There still wasn't a slight response from her. Troy started to shake, as he lowered his hand down, and gripped her wrist in it. He felt around for a pulse, and sighed in relief when he found one.

"K-Kelsi, we have to get her to a hospital. I can still feel a small pulse." He told her.

**Will they get her there in time? You'll see**** soon enough. (:  
**

**165 reviews was a rando****m number I had my friend pick. Before I even got a chance to start, you g****uys reached the goal, and went to 174****. The last chapter received 30 reviews! ****That's crazy cool. ****(: Just wanted to say thanks ****again.**** I really appreciate the support and feedback I receive. It's nice to know that you guys like to read what I write.**

**For the next update, I have a goal in mind already. I'm just not saying what it is. ****Haha****. But don't worry. It's a pretty easy one, and if we don'****t reach it by Sun****day, I'll post the next one then.**** So if you want the next chapter like now, then review! ****Or if you can wait it ****out****, then yeah. Have a great weekend everyone!  
**

**-Ilyilyx3**

**Sneak Peak****-**

_**"S**__**he actual**__**ly hurt herself. She's in the **__**hospital right now**__**…**__**"**_

_**"T**__**hey don**__**'t know if she can make it or **__**not."**_

**Whoo****. Only one part**** this time.**** If I wrote anymore than that, yo****u guys would know too much! Haha.  
**

**Oh, and sorry for any mistakes. I'm in a hurry. d:  
**


	16. Convincing Them

**a****sd****fghjkl****; I hate two thing**** right now. ****One,**** is you guys of course. ****d****: You guys reached the goal last Friday, like twelve hours after I posted it, and went beyond my goal…****meanies. ****Haha.**** And second, is ****Fanfiction****. It wouldn't let me upload anything, for the past w****eek! It was so aggravating. **** Seriously.**

**Who's That Girl**

**Chapter 14- Convincing Them**

**Nobody's POV-**

"K-Kelsi, we have to get her to a hospital. I can still feel a small pulse." He told her. Kelsi's eyes widened.

"R-really?!" she asked, as he nodded. She took Gabriella's other wrist, and felt the small pulse too. She smiled slightly through her tears, as Troy picked up Gabriella, and carried her in his arms, draping her arms around his neck.

"Let's go Kelsi!"

-------

Every moment that pasted, in the waiting room, was pure agonizing torture for Troy and Kelsi to go through. They had arrived at the hospital about two hours ago, and admitted Gabriella into the emergency room. Through all of the busyness of the hospital, they finally took her in thirty minutes after they had arrived. Five doctors had gone in, and out of the room she was in, and none of them would answer any questions Kelsi and Troy had asked. The two were seated on the uncomfortable chairs out in the hallway, just outside of her room. Troy's cell phone went off, as he took it out of his pocket.

"Hold on Kels." he told her, as he walked outside, as pressed accept.

"Hello?" Troy greeted in a monotonous voice.

"Hey Troy!" the voice on the other line greeted.

"Hi."

"Dude, what's wrong? You seem so out of it." Cameron joked, as Troy clicked his tongue annoyed.

"How am I supposed to sound?! Happy?!" He questioned angrily.

"Well, no but-"

"How am I supposed to be happy when Gabriella's in the hospital?" Troy exclaimed, interrupting him.

"I- whoa, whoa whoa. Back up. Did you just say my cousin's in the hospital?!"

"Yeah…"

"What the hell happened?! You said she was fine yesterday!" Cameron accused, as Troy rubbed his forehead with his free hand.

"It was self inflicted. She actually hurt herself." he stated, shaking his head. "As you know; she's in the hospital right now. She was in the emergency room. They brought her out an hour ago, and into another room." he finished, kicking a pebble on the ground.

"Is she going to be okay?" Cameron asked worriedly.

"They don't know if she can make it or not. In fact, I don't really know at all." Troy said furiously. "It's just that they haven't even said a thing to me since when we got here!" he exclaimed, pacing around. "Me and Kelsi are here. We're her only family at the moment. We might not be blood-family, but we still care about her." He rambled. "You'd think that they'd show some compassion, but no! They won't tell us a damn thing!" Cameron sighed.

"Calm down Troy. Take deep breaths." He coaxed, as Troy did as he said.

"How can you be so calm, Cam?" Troy asked, shaking his head.

"Ehh, been through this pain before. I've learned how to bottle up my emotions." Cameron explained.

-------

Troy hung up the phone, and walked back inside. He was feeling less stressed, and tense as he was before. '_That guy is a miracle worker, I swear._' He thought, as he opened the entrance door. He sat down beside Kelsi again, who was looking at the floor, seemingly interested the floor tile. He was about to talk to her, when the door to Gabriella's room opened, and another figure walked out, and stood before them.

"Family or friends of Miss Montez?" a doctor asked, as the two immediately stood up.

"That's us." Troy stated, as the doctor looked down at the clipboard he had in his hand, nodding.

"Would you like the good news or the bad news first?" he questioned.

"Erm, both?" Kelsi answered.

"Well, good news is we pumped out all of the drugs in her digestive system, and such." He stated happily, as the two sighed out of relief. "The bad news is that the drugs affected her body, and she won't wake up for about approximately seven to ten hours." Troy groaned.

"I guess that's okay." He stated, running his hand through his hair. "Did any of it harm her body?" He questioned curiously, as the doctor shook his head reassuringly.

"No, you two brought her here just in time." He started. "If she was any skinnier, we wouldn't have able to pump her stomach. He sighed slightly. "Be glad about that." He told them, as he looked down at his clipboard again.

"Could we go see her?" Kelsi inquired nervously.

"Yes, but just one question though." She looked at him weirdly.

"Yeah?"

"How did she get harmed like that? All of those cuts, the sedatives, her paleness; was it all self-inflicted?" he asked, as Troy opened his mouth to answer.

"You see, it all started-" He started, but was interrupted by Kelsi's hand, that was covering his mouth.

"Sorry, but that's a private matter we're not allowed to… talk about with others. But thank you though, Doctor…" she stated, as she looked down at his nametag. She tried to stifle her giggles as she finished her statement. "…Go." He rolled his eyes.

"No problem at all." He stated bluntly, walking away, and down the corridor. Kelsi and Troy walked into the room, and saw Gabriella lying peacefully on the mattress. She had a hospital gown on, and most of the blood was washed off of her. But her face was even paler, and her body was thinner than before.

Seeing all of the wires and cords attached to her made Kelsi's heart throb, as her stomach filled with pain and guilt in her conscious. She walked over to Gabriella, and looked down on her. She almost immediately broke out sobbing.

"I-I should've come over sooner. I'm so sorry Gabi. I'm such a bad friend. I-it was all my fault." She stuttered out between sobs. Troy shook his head sadly, as he took in Gabriella's appearance, tears weld up in his eyes. He closed them momentarily to prevent himself from crying.

"No it wasn't Kelsi." He stated, as he opened his eyes, and took a deep breath. "Let's just focus on finding out what happened alright?" she nodded in agreement.

"S-should we tell the others?" Kelsi asked nervously.

"Yeah." He stated running a hand through his hair again. "Wait, I have a date with Melanie tomorrow. You're going to have to go yourself." She groaned.

"But we could always go in the m-morning." She tried coaxing him, as he shook his head.

"It's an all day thing. Sorry Kels." She nodded sadly.

"Wait… you're still going out with her?" She questioned, as he looked at her weirdly.

"Well, yeah… I guess so." He told her. "Why?" she shook her head.

"Nothing. Let's go get the others now?" she offered, as he looked at the clock on the wall of the room, and sighed.

"Considering its midnight, how about you go get them in tomorrow? If you need any back up, just give me a call, and I'm there. And hopefully, Brie would have awoken by tomorrow."

-------

"Hey Guys." Kelsi greeted, as she opened the door, and let the rest entered her house. When everyone was seated in the living room, she decided that it was time to tell them what had happened. Before she could open her mouth and say anything, Ryan beat her to it.

"So, what's up Kelsi?" he asked, placing his hand on his hat, moving it around, before settling it down again. She opened her mouth to talk, but was interrupted again.

"You know I love you and all, but you better have a good reason of getting us up this early." Sharpay said, rubbing her eyes, and yawning.

"Yeah, what she said." Chad added in. She waited for a moment, for anyone else to say anything. No one did, and she opened her mouth to speak.

"I-" Taylor interrupted her. "Yeah Kelsi, come on. It's only 9:00pm. I wanted to sleep some more." Kelsi nodded as she looked at Zeke.

"I wanted to try this new recipe, my mom gave me." He explained. She looked over at Jason, who hadn't said anything yet.

"I'm happy." He stated smiling happily, and shrugged. Everybody shot him a look of curiosity.

"What?" Jason questioned. "It's more time to spend with Ke-" he trailed off. "Umm, more time… more company!" he exclaimed, standing up. "More company on a Saturday morning. You guys know how I get lonely." He finished sitting back down, and shrinking back in his seat. The rest looked at him weirdly, before turning their attention back towards Kelsi."

"Don't mind him Kels. He's just being his… usual self." Zeke stated, looking at Jason who was playing rock, paper, scissors, with himself. Zeke shook his head. "So what did you call us all here for?" He asked, as she took in a deep breath, and let it out.

"Guys… Gabi's in the hospital." Kelsi told them sadly.

"Are you serious?" Ryan questioned her in disbelief, as she raised her eyebrow and nodded. Sharpay suddenly stood up.

"This is what you rounded us up for, on a Saturday morning!?" The blonde started, pacing. "Just to try to convince us of some stupid lie that bitch brainwashed you into believing?!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Come on Kels. You should know better than to believe her." Taylor chimed in, shaking her head.

"It really is true though!" she argued, as Sharpay stopped walking, and scoffed.

"Explain Kelsi."

"I already told you! Gabriella's been hurting herself, and yesterday, I guess she just went too far!!" Kelsi argued and stood up, as the blonde rolled her eyes.

"What if it's all an act?" Chad asked, as everyone turned their attention to him.

"How would it be an act? I saw her cutting herself! Her alibi even works out!" she yelled.

"But Kelsi, what if she's just tricking you again?" Zeke questioned gently, as Kelsi shook her head.

"She's not, she wouldn't, and she never did trick me! I actually have faith in her, unlike you guys!" she stated angrily.

"But-"

"No. Just listen to me. Gabriella has never tricked me, neither has she tricked you!" She started, cutting off Ryan, as she looked at the ground. "I've been comforting her for the past couple of days. She's been getting better, until yesterday." She paused, looking up at the rest. "Something made her want to die. And it was after I called her; after she punched Melanie." She finished, as realization hit Taylor.

"W-what do you mean?" she stuttered.

"What I just said. I called her; she told me she had just punched Melanie. I come over two hours later, she doesn't answer the door. I call Troy over, and we find her unconscious on the bathroom floor." Kelsi explained again. Taylor, Zeke, Ryan, and Chad bit their bottom lips.

"I think we might know why." Chad claimed.

"Why?"

"We kinda dragged Gabriella to the park with us yesterday, and each slapped her multiple times to punching Melanie." Taylor told her.

"You what?!?" Kelsi yelled. "Oh, come on Taylor. Didn't you see the signs of depression on her or anything?! It was all there!" she finished, as the others, except Sharpay, looked down.

"No! Nobody get all emotional on me right now." The blonde demanded, stomping her foot on the ground. "We still don't know if that really happened or not."

"What are you talking about now Sharpay?" Jason questioned, as Sharpay turned her attention towards Kelsi.

"Tell me what happened again." The blonde demanded, as Kelsi sighed.

"Troy and I went over to her house yesterday, and found her on the bathroom floor, covered in blood, lying next to a blood stained-razor, and a bottle of sedatives." She clarified once again.

"I bet that it was all a set up. What an attention whore." Sharpay said angrily, snapping her fingers.

"What the hell?" Kelsi muttered under her breath. "Ughh, would you guys just listen to me for once!?" she queried.

"Would you listen to logic?" Taylor butted in.

"You can be such a bitch." Kelsi told her, as Taylor's eyes widened.

"What?!" she questioned angrily.

"You're starting to become one. In fact, all of you are." She said, pointing at each of them. "What the hell is wrong with you guys? Would it kill you just to listen for once? God, you're all so stubborn." She exclaimed.

"Would you just accept the fact that you were and are wrong about her?" Kelsi questioned. "She's in the damn hospital right now." She told them, throwing her hands in the air. "Our best friend is in the hospital. Gabriella's in stuck in depression. She's been cutting, and not eating at all. She's pale as a ghost; all her bones are showing, like those sluts at school." She compared. "And yesterday, she fucking tried to kill herself! How else could I say all of that to get it through all of your thick skulls?!" Sharpay shook her head.

"You don't need to say anything else Kelsi. Just prove it." She stated, as Kelsi raised her eyebrows.

"I don't need to. Just go to the hospital, and see for yourself." She said, walking to the door. "You know what?! Just leave, all of you. If you don't care about losing one of your best friends, you can surely lose another while you're at it."

**Sharpay's**** stubborn right?**

**I know**** there wasn't that much Gabriella in this one, but you guys ha****d to hear about the talk. It was sort of a filler chapter.**** Anyway, I'd like to thank you all for the reviews again. ****We beat t****he record from last time. ****Had 43**** reviews for cha****pter 13. ****Yay. ****Haha. ****No goal for the next update. You guys always seem to make m****e feel bad whenever I have one. ****Umm, I'll update again on Tues****day, maybe earlier****. It depends. (: But I do pinkie promise, that it'll be up by Tuesday. (; **

**-Ilyilyx3**

**Sneak Peak-**

_**"**__**Could we**__** come in?"**_

_**"**__**Why**__**, do you want to slap me again?"**_

_**-------**_

_**"**__**There's more to the story."**_

_**"What do you mean Gabi?"**_

_**-------**_

_**"Gabriella told me what happen**__**ed...**__** It was all Melanie's doing!"**_

_**"What the heck?" **__**  
**_

** Guesses are welcome. (:**

**And if you haven't, check out my other story, **_**The Mental Guy. **_**I'm posting the next chapter today.**_**  
**_


	17. Confusion

**Sorry for ****the long wait on this update. I was in the hospital for a long while, and I just got back recently. I've been trying to get my life back into s****ync, and I finally did. ****Haha****. Here I am, updating.**** Finally.**** Enjoy it guys, I made it extra long. (;**

**And sorry if it lacks emotion or anything.**** I'm still a little drowsy from the medicine. I might repost this chapter if you guys want me to go back and edit it. (:**

**Who's That Girl**

**Chapter 15- Confusion**

**Nobody's POV-**

Sharpay, Jason, Ryan, Chad, Taylor, and Zeke exited Kelsi's house, each with guilt in their stomachs. They walked to the end of her front lawn, and down to the sidewalk, near each of their perspective cars. The six were passing by Kelsi's mailbox when Sharpay abruptly stomped her foot on the ground. Everyone looked up at the blonde, as she started pacing in front of them.

"She has no right to do that!" she suddenly exclaimed, shaking her head. "We're only trying to look out for her, and this is how she repays us?!"

"Shar, maybe what she said was true." Taylor rationalized.

"Yeah, I mean, after we finished talking to her yesterday, she was in bad shape." Zeke chimed in, as Sharpay scoffed.

"Don't tell me that you all believe her." The blonde hissed, as everyone else winced at her tone.

"We don't. It just might make sense if you go get the real story from Gabriella?" Chad suggested.

"That bitch already told us what happened though."

"Yeah, but she said that was what Melanie told her. It wasn't from her point of view." Sharpay rolled her eyes.

"Come on Shar, it won't hurt to go see if Gabriella is really hurt or not." Ryan piped up, as Jason stood there deep in thought, suddenly throwing his arm up.

"Wait a second. What if we get there, and she is admitted, but not for what we thought?"

"What do you mean Jay?" Taylor asked.

"Like what if she's pretending? Or she has people there to beat us up? Or maybe even aliens?!" The guys laughed slightly.

"You had me going for a second there man." Chad stated, as he patted Jason's shoulder.

"But Jason does have a good point though. What if it is all a trap?" Zeke wondered.

"It won't. It shouldn't anyway." Jason shrugged.

"Why?" Sharpay questioned, and started to pace again.

"Kelsi is our friend. She wouldn't do anything to harm us." He reasoned, as the rest nodded. "Unlike Gabriella." Taylor sighed.

"Unlike Gabriella." she repeated, looking down to the grass sadly. Sharpay bit her lower lip roughly.

"I can't believe that bitch is giving us this much distress! I'm going to go there, and set her straight."

"I'll go with you." Taylor offered nervously.

"No wait Shar, Tay-"

Sharpay shook her head, took Taylor's arm and ran to her car, ignoring all of the calls from their other friends.

The blonde walked inside of the hospital, and up to the front desk with Taylor trailing behind her. She cleared her throat to gain the nurse's attention, but she was not successful. She cleared her throat much louder a second time. Still no response. Scowling, she brought her left hand up to her mouth and blew, creating a loud whistle. The nurse's head immediately shot up.

"Young lady! This is a hospital, not a Hooters palace. Now be a respectable young lady, and be quiet." She scolded, as Sharpay scoffed, gritting her teeth angrily. The blonde turned around and looked at Taylor, who shrugged at her. She took a deep breath before turning around again, smiling sweetly.

"Excuse me. If you don't mind me asking, would you kindly tell me where Gabriella Montez's room is?" Sharpay questioned in a nice voice. The nurse smiled at her, and looked down at her computer, pressing a couple of buttons.

"Room 273. It's on the third floor." Sharpay nodded curtly and walked away from the desk, nodding Taylor to come with her.

-------

Gabriella had woken up merely an hour ago. The moment she awoke and saw the emptiness and whiteness of the place she was in, she had thought that her suicide attempt had succeeded… Until she noticed a couple of people hovering over her.

The doctors that had treated her, asked her questioned about her injuries and how she had received the extremely high amount of sedatives in her system. She simply answered that she had accidentally fallen over broken glass, after take sleeping pill to help her get a good rest. The doctors believed her and eventually left after telling her that she could be discharged the next day, earlier if needed.

Currently, the brunette was sitting on her bed, just staring at the tile ceiling blankly. She sighed as she heard someone knocking on the door. She mumbled a response for the person to come in, and was face to face with an old lady.

"Arianna?" the elderly woman called out, looking around the room.

"You must have the wrong room Miss." The brunette told her, as the elderly woman's eyes landed on her, and shook her head.

"No, no. By the looks of it, you might need some cheering up too." She smiled softly. "My name's Cecilia. What's your's?"

"Gabriella."

"Such a beautiful name, Sweetie." She replied, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. So, would you like to tell me what's wrong?" Gabriella closed her eyes tightly, before reopening them, and replying.

"I guess so." The brunette answered unsurely, as Cecilia shook her head again.

"It's okay if you don't want to tell me Gabriella. I'm just trying to help. And I'll give you it, only if you need it." Gabriella smiled slightly before sighing.

"I've been feeling depressed lately." She looked down to her hands. "Over my whole life. It used to be so perfect. But now, it's just a disaster that I don't want to live anymore." She finished in a small voice.

"Oh my. Are you in here because of a suicide attempt?" She nodded sadly.

"Gabriella, your life is a dangerous thing to play around with. You only get one chance with it." Cecilia stated wisely.

"I know, but my life isn't worth it anymore. No life is worth living if you have to endure all of the pain I have to right now." Cecilia shook her head.

"Whatever it is, it couldn't be that tough. You seem like a very strong girl that can go through anything life throws at her." She reassured her, as Gabriella smiled.

"Thank you, but I still don't think I can handle it Cecilia. I've tried so hard for so long already. I just want to…let go." She nodded sadly.

"I guess I can't change your mind then. But if you ever need anything, just come and find me. I'll always be near."

"What do you mean…" Gabriella trailed off once she saw Cecilia's retreating figure. The brunette sighed as she leaned back onto the headboard of the bed. She closed her eyes only to reopen them again at the sound of someone knocking the door. She looked up and saw Sharpay, standing there right next to Taylor, who had just knocked. Taylor looked like she was nervous, while the blonde just had her cold blank stare on her face. Gabriella raised her eyebrows questionably at them.

"What?"

"Could we come in?" Taylor asked, as Gabriella rolled her eyes.

"Why, do you want to slap me again?" The blonde snorted.

"As if. Like we'd waste our energy on you." Taylor nudged her.

"Gabriella, could we just come in and talk?"

"What the hell would you want to talk about? I have nothing else to say to you two." Gabriella stated blankly.

"Yeah, you do." Sharpay argued, crossing her arms.

"What then?"

"Tell us what happened again." Taylor told her.

"Are you two like mentally deranged or something? I already told you." She asked rhetorically, as Sharpay stepped closer, ready to slap her again. Taylor held her arm back.

"Could you at least be clearer this time?" she asked nicely, as the blonde started mumbling incoherently.

"Or an unexaggerated alibi would work too." She mumbled.

"On the night that I supposedly called you guys mean things and hurt Melanie, I was in the hospital with my dad. He was in a car accident; someone hit him before just driving off." Gabriella started. "He told me he was going on some bizarre business trip for three months in New York. He took my mom and sister with him. By then, all of you guys had turned on me." She continued, as tears built up in her eyes.

"I got kicked off the cheerleading squad and decathlon team too. I was fired from the Peanut Diner. And about two three days ago Melanie came up to me. Told me what she did, and all of those things were what I told you before." She finished, shrugging. Taylor looked at her ex-best friend and felt her heart clench.

"Gabriella-" Taylor started sadly, but was cut off by Sharpay.

"What a pathetic excuse!" she suddenly exclaimed. "You actually think we'd believe that? No one can be that evil! You are so pathetic. I cannot believe that we were ever best friends in the first place. Ughh, you know what?! I am so outta here!" She walked out of the room, huffing, and slamming the door.

"Sharpay!" Taylor yelled after her, she looked back at Gabriella.

"Sorry. But I gotta go. Bye." And with that, Taylor ran after Sharpay.

-------

"So, what did she say?" Chad asked, as Taylor sighed.

"That she didn't hurt Melanie." She answered in a monotonous voice.

"What's the alibi this time?" Zeke questioned, annoyed.

"She told me that on that night, her dad went to hospital, and she went to visit him." Sharpay replied, rolling her eyes, as the rest besides Taylor scoffed.

"Pftt, yeah right. And on that night I straightened my 'fro." Chad said sarcastically, patting his 'golden mane'. Taylor shook her head determinedly.

"No I think she was right. My parents went to the hospital to visit someone that day." She reasoned, as the others looked at her weirdly.

"Hey didn't Troy's parents go too?" Ryan questioned slowly, as everyone's attention was focused on him biting his lip. He suddenly shut his eyes, and reopened them. "…Crap. Come to think of it, I think mine did too."

"Wait, if Gabriella was at the hospital, then who was the one who hurt Mel?" Zeke queried confusedly.

"Maybe Melanie did it to herself?" Chad guessed, shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh no. Is she emo too?" Jason wondered outloud, as everyone looked at him.

"Jay…"

"What?" Chad shook his head.

"Nothing man." Taylor sighed.

"What are we going to do then?" she questioned seriously, as Sharpay stood up rigidly.

"Nothing!" she exclaimed angrily.

"What do you mean Shar?" Zeke asked carefully.

"We're going to do nothing. Not until I hear Melanie admitting she did that." The blonde hissed out icily.

-------

Gabriella laid back into her pillow comfortably. She was still contemplating on whether she should continue her life or not, and that talk with Cecilia had not made it any easier. That talk had made her lean over to staying alive. But seeing Sharpay and Taylor made her want to die. She didn't want-

She was soon pulled out of her thoughts by another knock on the door. She looked up, and smiled brightly, the moment she saw her friend walk in.

"Hey Kelsi." She greeted, as Kelsi looked up.

She gasped. "Gabi!" she exclaimed, running over to hug her friend. Gabriella gladly returned the hug, and smiled.

"How are you feeling?" Kelsi asked as soon as the two let go.

"A bit better. And much more confused." The brunette answered, as Kelsi looked at her weirdly.

"What do you mean more confused?" Gabriella shook her head.

"Nothing, nothing at all." Kelsi raised her eyebrow skeptically.

"What happened?"

"Nothing!" The brunette exclaimed, a little too loud. She blushed before apologizing to her chuckling friend.

"Gabriella, why'd you do that to yourself? I thought you were fine." Gabriella sighed.

"Have you talked to the gang lately?"

"Just this morning. I invited them to my house to tell them what happened. They freaked out, and thought I was lying." She stated, shaking her head.

"I told them about Melanie, and they told me what happened between you and them to convince me otherwise. I said you would never hurt them, and that's when they accused me of being a liar, and wanting to hurt them." She paused, as Gabriella nodded her head for her to continue.

"I snapped, and told them off. After that, I kicked them out of my house, telling them if they could lose you, then they could lose me too." Gabriella gasped.

"Kelsi. I told you not to. Don't you remember our promise? I don't want you to fight this for me." She told her, as Kelsi smiled.

"Gabi, you broke your promise too. Besides, I'm not fighting this for you. I'm only helping you." She reasoned. "You're an amazing friend. I would never want to lose you. I'd rather lose the others, than lose you. You know that?" she confessed. Gabriella smiled slightly.

"Fine. You can help me all you want. Just don't get involved with Melanie, okay? She's dangerous." Kelsi snorted.

"How would she be dangerous? I know she slapped you and all, but that's not much. I can totally handle her." Gabriella shook her head.

"Just don't get involved okay?" Kelsi mimicked her.

"Would you just tell me? I can probably handle anything she throws at me. No worries about it." The brunette sighed.

"I don't think you can handle losing your whole life Kelsi." She stated sadly.

"What?"

"I don't think you can handle losing everything you care about." She repeated, Kelsi looked at her in question.

"There's more to the story."

"What do you mean Gabi?" Gabriella took in a deep breath, and let it out.

"You know about my dad's leaving right?" Kelsi nodded.

"And me getting fired?" She nodded once again.

"Basically my whole life being ruined?"

"Just tell me, Gabs." The brunette pursed her lips before answering.

"It was all Melanie's doings."

"But how?"

"She told me she went to her uncle, David Greter." She explained, as Kelsi gasped.

"The recording legend?"

"Yeah. The day before she went to you guys, she caught me in a bad mood. I yelled at her. She took my voice, and mixed it, making me say those means things." Kelsi looked at her in shock.

"What about your dad-" Gabriella cut her off.

"Her parents." She answered. "They're business partners with my, and Sharpay's parents. She made them go instead, just to get me down." She finished.

"But how did she know about your closeness to your family?" Kelsi asked in confusion.

"Troy. She asked, and he told her everything." The brunette answered blankly, as Kelsi raised her eyebrows.

"Do you mean she's using Troy?" Gabriella shrugged.

"Truthfully, I don't know." She replied, and sighed. "She might be though."

"Oh my god. I've got to call him."

"Why?"

"He's on a date with her right now. Who knows what she could do to him for helping you into the hospital with me. He might even spill to her about right now." Kelsi explained running into the hallway. She immediately pulled out her cell phone, and called Troy.

"Pick up… pick up Troy." She mumbled under her breath frantically. It rang a couple of times, before going straight to his voicemail.

"Hey, you've reached Troy Bolton. I'm not here right now. Probably too busy bolting around town." She heard his chuckles. "Kidding. I'm just probably too busy to come to the phone right now. Just leave a message, and I'll get back to you. Later guys." She sighed as she heard the beeping noise. She began pacing around, as she talked into her phone.

"Troy? It's Kelsi. I'm at the hospital right now. Gabriella's awake!" She began. "But that's not the point." She breathed in deeply. "I talked to her, and she told me things. Actually, Gabriella told me what happened… you know involving her and Melanie. The truth is, her downfall was not spontaneous like we thought. It was all Melanie's doing! I-" she exclaimed, hearing another beeping noise. She lifted her phone, and looked at it, seeing that it had shut off because of it running out of battery. She groaned, before throwing her arms in defeat.

-------

Troy and Melanie walked out of the movie theater together. They had just finished watching a movie, and were now headed to a surprise place that Melanie planned. They got into the car, and Melanie drove off to their next destination.

"You're going to love what I have planned Troyie." Melanie told him cheerfully. He chuckled slightly, and nodding, turning his head towards the window. He looked out of it, and started to wonder if Gabriella had woken up yet. Kelsi hadn't filled him in on whether she had or not. He sighed, leaning his head on the glass.

He felt a vibration in his pocket, and took his phone out. He saw that he had one new voicemail. Raising his eyebrows, he flipped his phone open, and called his voicemail. He pressed in the password, once asked, and listened to the message.

"Troy? It's Kelsi. I'm at the hospital right now. Gabriella's awake. I talked to her, and she told me things. Actually, Gabriella told me what happened… you know involving her and Melanie. The truth is, her downfall was not spontaneous like we thought. It was all Melanie's doing! I-" the message was cut off there. He looked at his phone weirdly.

"What the heck?" Melanie looked at him worriedly.

"What's wrong?" He sighed and shook his head.

"Nothing." She rolled her eyes and looked back onto the road.

After a couple of minutes of driving, the car came to a stop. Melanie clapped her hands together excitedly. She looked over at Troy.

"Are you ready?"

"Sure, where are we anyway?" he asked looked around, only seeing a sign that said D. Greter's.

"We're at my uncle's recording studio, silly. I have something fab to show you." She explained happily.

"And what's that?"

"You'll see." She told him, unbuckling his and her seat belt. The two exited the car, and went inside. Melanie strutted in as if she owned the place, as Troy followed sighing. Seeing him walk slowly, she ran back to his side, and pulled him to a separate room.

She let go of his hand, and went to the mixer that was currently in front of them. She turned on one of the knobs, as Chad's voice was echoed off of the sound system.

"Troy's a winner, and I'm a wiener!" it exclaimed, as Troy laughed listening closely.

"I made a poopy. And no one saw it! I lurrve Melanie and Troy being together. They made an awesome couple." It finished, as Melanie sighed happily, and Troy continued to laugh.

"How'd you get him to say that?" Troy asked after their laughing had subsided.

"This is my uncle's recording studio. He's David Greter." She explained, pausing. He nodded. "I brought him a clip of Chad talking. Saying something about a Jimmy?" she shrugged. "Another guy recorded his voice, saying what the voice just said, and my uncle remixed it, making it sound exactly like Chad." She finished.

"Oh, that's so cool. So basically, you can make anyone say anything you want?" He questioned, as she nodded.

"Yup. It's so fantabulous." She said, as she looked at herself in her compact mirror. She gasped. "Hold on a second babe, I need to go freshen up a bit. Wait here?"

"Yeah."

"Kay. Be back in a sec." He nodded, and started to play around with the mixer. He made Chad's voice sound falsetto, and laughed shaking his head.

"This is so cool." He commented to no one in particular, as the door opened. He looked up, and saw David Greter himself walk inside.

"Hello, you must be Troy, I presume?" The older man asked him, as he nodded.

"Yeah, that's me."

"Ah. I knew it. I'm David, Melanie's uncle." He introduced himself, extending his hand out for Troy to shake it.

"Nice to meet you." He took it, and shook hands.

"You too." He chuckled. "You know, she was so excited about this new invention of mine." He stated.

"The voice mixer?" Troy questioned.

"The very one."

"Well, it is indeed very awesome sir." He praised, as he turned around, and motioned to it. David chuckled again.

"Thank you." He said, looking down at his watch. "Shoot. I've got to go. Wife and kids waiting at home. Give these to Melanie would you?" He asked, placing an envelope in Troy's hands. "They're more tapes from a project we were doing. I guess you could browse through them if you'd like."

"Oh, okay." Troy replied, as David smiled.

"Thanks a million son."

"No prob."

"Bye Troy."

"Bye Mr. Greter."

Troy opened the envelope, which was entitled 'Plan: GM's Living Hell', and put in one of the disks inside the machine, waiting for it to load. The machine lit up, and the disk started to play…

**Cliffy! (: What's on the tape? ****Haha****, find out next time. Trust ****me;**** you****'ll**** really want to know.**

**Again, I am super ****super**** sorry for not updating when I said I would. ): It's ****all of my friend's**** fault. She gave me her cold, and it ended up taking me to the hospital.**

**But it's okay. I'm still here, aren't I? (: I'll be posting up ****the next chapter for _T_****_he Mental Guy_, soon.**** It should be out in about a couple of days? I'm almost done with it, it's just I have tons of homework to work on. It's not fun being me right now. ****d:**

**And thank you for all of the reviews for the last chapter! I g****ot ****57**** reviews for it****. That so blew me away. You guys are amazing. Thank you for the support. (:**** Next chapter for ****this,**** should be up next week. I'm not promising anything. Something bad always seems to happen when I make a date. ****O.o**

**-Ilyilyx3**

**No sneak peak this time. ****d:**


	18. Sorrow And Remorse

**Finally, she updates. Haha. ****Sorry for the long wait. Blame writer's block this time. (****x**** That's why t****his has got to be the worst chapter I've ever written in this story.**** I hate it and its shortness. **

**But I love you guys. (: We've hit 300+ reviews! Thank you so much. I was never expecting that much for this story. And sorry for any mistakes! **

**Who's That Girl**

**Chapter 16- ****Sorrow ****And**** Remorse**

**Nobody's POV-**

Troy opened the envelope, which was entitled 'Plan: GM's Living Hell', and put in one of the disks inside the machine, waiting for it to load. The machine lit up, and the disk started to play…

_"Would you just go away Ch-" Gabriella said. __"__Damnit__."__ She muttered and sighed. "What do you want Melanie?" she spat coldly._

He stared at the machine in disbelief. _'What the hell__ is this__?' _he thought in his mind.

_"Well, well, well, looks like the sweet caring Gabriella isn't so nice after all." __Came__ Melanie's__ icy__ voice._

_"Seriously, what the hell are you doing here Melanie?" Gabriella retorted._

_"Nothing __Montez,__ just got back from a making out session with __my__ guy, Troy." The blonde replied. Gabriella scowled._

_"Did you just come here just to tell me that shit? If you did then you could just fuck off and leave. __Because right now, I'd rather not hear about your intimate love life."_

_"No. That's not why I'm here." Melanie responded in a 'duh' tone._

_"Then?"_

_"I came here to do this."__ The sound of a slap was heard._

_"What the __fuck was that for?" The brunette asked__ angrily._

_"That was for breaking my nail. I hate you and __all of your retarded friends." Melanie started, __"Especially that __Sharpay__ girl. She's such a bl__o__nde __priss__. And that Chad guy?__ He needs a haircut, and what's with that stupid basketball he carries around? God __are__ you and any of your friends worth Troy's precious time? He should __just __ditch school, and spend more time with __moi__." She finished._

_"__Ughh__, would you just lea__ve you self absorbed bitch!" Gabriella__ yelled as another sound of slapping was heard. __"And never talk about my friends that way!" she exclaimed, __as a punch, and slam of the door was audible._

Troy's mouth went wide open, as his eyes widened in shock. He stopped the tape there. "This was all Melanie's fault?" he asked himself as Kelsi's voice from the voicemail came to his mind. _'It was all Melanie's doing!'_ Realization hit him hard in the face. His girlfriend was the one who destroyed Gabriella's life.

His hands trembling in anger, he ejected the disk and put it in his pocket. He closed his eyes tightly as if all of his troubles would just melt away. He didn't know what he was going to do. All he knew was that he had to tell the others, and prove Gabriella innocent.

He suddenly heard a door opening and closing. He opened his eyes, and saw that Melanie was walking back inside. He glared at her, before taking a deep breath and changing his facial expression to a slightly nicer one.

"What's up with you Troy? You look so… tired." She said with a roll of her eyes, as she inspected her nails.

"Nothing." Troy answered, clenching his fists. "Hey Mel?"

She looked up at him boredly. "Yeah?"

"What do you think about Gabriella?" He asked, as she scoffed.

"That little wannabe that hangs out with you and your friends?" She asked in disbelief, as she rolled her eyes again. "She's always trying to take you away from me! She is such a priss, trying to take someone else's boyfriend." Melanie snapped her fingers. "I had to teach her a lesson!" She exclaimed, as he looked at her angrily.

"Like what?" He questioned, as she realized what she had just said. Melanie gulped, as she answered him.

"A little bit of this, a little bit of that. Nothing worth mentioning." She waved her hand off, symbolizing nothing. He shook his head angrily.

"You know what, I've got to go. Sorry to cut this short Melanie." She finally looked up at him.

"But it was supposed to be an all day thing!" She exclaimed frantically, as Troy shook his head.

"I know, but I really have to go." She smirked.

"To the bathroom?" She asked innocently, as he rolled his eyes.

"No, I just need to leave. Bye Melanie." He replied, as he walked out of the studio.

"Tr-" She called after him, but cut herself off, as she shrugged. "Ehh, whatever. He'll be back. I am me of course."

-------

Troy ran to the diner, knowing very well that all of his friends were on shift at that time. He walked through the door, and saw Sharpay, Taylor, Ryan, Chad, and Zeke crowded around a booth. They all wore guilty and disappointed looks on their faces, except for Sharpay who wore a slightly angry, pissed off look.

"Guys!" He called out, slightly out of breath as he reached them. They all looked up to him unexpectantly. They bombarded him with questions, which mostly consisted of why he was there, or why he wasn't with Melanie.

"There's no time for that. Listen to this." Troy told them, as he placed the disk inside the stereo beside them. The disk played exactly what Troy had heard merely twenty minutes ago. After it had finished, he shut it off, and turned around to everyone's shocked faces.

_'Crap.'_ was what was going through everyone's mind. There was a slight silence that lingered the seven teenagers, until Taylor broke it.

"Oh my god. Are you fucking serious?" She yelled. "Melanie is so- ughh! We were such horrible friends to Gabi!" She continued, running her hands through her hair. Chad shook his head sadly.

"We should all go to hell." He concluded, as Zeke nodded.

"We're the worst friends ever."

"Do you think she would forgive us?" Jason questioned, as everyone turned his attention to him.

"Doubt it, man." Ryan replied, rubbing his eyes angrily.

"Where did you get that from?" Sharpay asked, breaking herself out of her own reverie, as she turned her head towards Troy.

"David Greter's recording studio, aka Melanie's uncle. She brought me there for our date, and he gave me this envelope. It said 'GM's living hell'. I took out one of the disks, and here we are." He answered.

"What does GM stand for…" Chad trailed off. "Oh! Ha ha. Nevermind." Taylor shook her head.

"Keep that disk safe, okay Troy? We'll need it as evidence." He nodded.

"What are you guys still waiting for!? We have to go and get her to forgive us!"

Jason looked at her uncertainly. "Are you bipolar, Shar?" Her eyes widened in shock and anger.

"What?"

"Are. You. Bipolar." He repeated slowly, as she scowled.

"Why would you ask that?"

"I mean, for the past couple of days, you've been mean and cold to Gabriella." He explained. "So why the sudden kindness to her?" He shook his head. "Why did you seem like you didn't care about her at all, when the rest of us, showed at least a little emotion when Kelsi told us the truth?" He paused, trying to think of the right phrase to ask her. "…why were you so stubborn?"

"You know, I don't have to answer that."

"But we would like to know Shar." Taylor interjected, as the others nodded. Sharpay sighed.

"Because I was afraid." Zeke raised his eyebrow.

"Of what, Shar?" She shook her head.

"Of…of… Let's just go!" She exclaimed suddenly, as she stood up.

"We're visiting Gabs then?" Chad whispered to Ryan. He nodded.

"We have to; it's the only thing that will help get her to forgive us now."

-------

Troy, Sharpay, Ryan, Zeke, Chad, Taylor, and Jason arrived at the hospital with heavy hearts, and facial expressions full of guilt and sorrow. They were expecting to relieve that said guilt by apologizing to Gabriella, and making the world a happy place again. Currently, the seven teenagers were all standing outside of her room.

Sharpay sighed. "This is it." She stated as she stood behind Troy, and nudged him towards the door.

"Go first Troy." He raised his eyebrows.

"Why me?"

"Your girlfriend did all of this." Taylor answered, as he scowled.

"Ex-girlfriend. I'm breaking up with her after we apologize." Chad patted his back.

"Good, if you didn't, we would have for you." Sharpay rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Just go in Troy." He took in a deep breath, and opened the door.

"Oh my god." Troy suddenly exclaimed, eyes widened, as the others looked at him worriedly.

"What's wrong?" Zeke asked.

"Oh my fucking god."

Taylor looked at him in confusion. "What?"

"Oh my-" Sharpay shoved him before he could finish.

"Move Bolton!" Her eyes widened the moment she looked inside.

"Oh my god." She stated, still looking at the room. The rest of the gang wore worried looked, as they walked inside. They saw an empty hospital room, with the gown on the bed, and multiple wires unconnected, as the sound of a machine flat-lining rang through the room.

"Guys, where's Gabi?" Chad queried nervously, as he saw the machine.

Troy shrugged. "Maybe she's in the bathroom?" He guessed, as Taylor walked out of it.

"I just checked, she's not in there."

"Umm, out for a walk?" Zeke assumed, as Ryan shook his head.

"No one's allowed out without a nurse." He answered.

"And?"

"They're on a lunch break." He finished, as Chad oh-ed and nodded.

"Under the bed?" He suggested, as everyone shot him a look of annoyance.

"What? It could happen." He shrugged, as he looked under the bed.

"There she is- Oh. Nevermind. That's just a huge dust bunny." Chad pursed his lips.

"I miss Jimmy." He claimed, as everyone looked at him weirdly. He shrugged yet again.

"What? Troy's dad hasn't given him back yet. Plus, that dust bunny was as big as him." He explained, as Jason came up to him.

"Chad, when your mom was pregnant with you, was your mom drinking, or on drugs-" He started, but was cut off by Sharpay.

"Jason!" He looked up from Chad, and was faced with multiple glares.

"Sorry. Just wondering." He admitted sheepishly, as footsteps were heard.

"What are you guys doing in here?" Kelsi questioned, as she noticed the missing person. "Where's Gabi?!" she asked frantically. "Oh my god! What did you guys do to her? I swear if you-" Sharpay cut her off.

"Kelsi, chill. When we got here, she was already gone."

"But she can't be. She just asked me to get her some snacks, I've only been gone for about ten minutes! Where could she have gone?" Taylor sadly shook her head, as everyone looked at the floor.

"We don't know." Jason raised his head spontaneously.

"You guys, what if she's out somewhere, committing suicide?" He questioned carefully, as everyone's eyes widened.

-------

She sighed as she walked up the pathway to her house, trudging each step she took. When she finally reached the front door, she gingerly felt the smooth surface of the railing. She sighed as opened the door to her house. She shook her head at the fact that Troy and Kelsi didn't lock it when they took her to the hospital last night.

Gabriella walked up the stairs slowly, looking at the pictures that hung beside the wall. She fought back her tears that threatened to spill, as she started to remember all of the happy memories that made those pictures. Biting her lower lip, she ran up the set of remaining stairs.

The brunette walked in her room, and inside her bathroom. She found her razor on the floor, along with the bottle of sedatives that she had used. Shaking her head, she bent down and picked them both up. She felt like she wanted to run the razor along her arm a couple more times. She was feeling confusion again, like all of her emotions were pent up inside of her. She felt the exact same way she did when she first cut herself, maybe even worse.

Gabriella probed her wrist with the razor a couple of times before finally cutting a line in herself. She felt the blood rushing out slowly. She bit her lip, as she felt the dripping blood cease. She raised the razor to her throat, and closed her eyes, ready to take her own life away. She shook her head as feelings of remorse came to her.

She should've been more focused, and alert. She should've known that Melanie wasn't a good person from the start. She should've told others. She should've done something. _'It's too late for that.'_ she thought. She sighed, and shook her head.

She thought about how her family would feel. How her loved ones would cry, and mourn. Those consisted of her parents, and her intermediate relatives. She began to think about Melissa, Kelsi, and Cameron, every single person who might care if she left them or the face of the earth. She sighed. None of those people really mattered to her. Sure she loves them, but not as much as her group of friends.

As she started to think back to Kelsi's words, she wasn't feeling suicidal was she was before. She knew that Kelsi would still be there for her. But remembering the pain and sadness in both Sharpay and Taylor's eyes, made her want to just die. Even if they were mean to her, they were still her friends. She didn't want to see them hurt.

She began to reminisce her and Cecilia's talk. Life was a dangerous thing to play with as the old woman had put it. Cecilia was right. You don't get second chances for living. Yet, Gabriella was given one when her first suicide attempt was unsuccessful.

Many people would kill for another chance, but Gabriella simply didn't want it. She saw what would happen if she continued to live, her loved ones would just suffer. If she died, she would hurt them, but it would eventually go away. It wouldn't linger like the suffering would. Gabriella took a deep breath, closed her eyes tighter, and prepared herself to die.

**Cliffy! (:**

**Next update should be soon. I don't want to leave you hanging with that big of a cliff-hanger. Review ****please,**** it might speed up the updating process. (; Hah, kidding. I don't want to pressure you to review or anything. ****I'll update again, on my birthday. (If you're wondering it's on January 1****st)**

**Does anyone miss Cameron? If you do, then it's a good thin****g. He's going to pop up soon.**** I'm n****ot saying when****, though. d:  
**

**-Ilyilyx3**

**Sneak Peak-**

**"****I mean. S****he wouldn't, would she?"**

**"****Actually, I think she would."**

**-------**

**"Where's Troy?"**

**"Oh, he just left."**

**"I see, I trust it that he gave you your ****cd's****?"**

**"W-what do you mean?"**

**-------**

**"I've got a job for you****…****"**

**"…****murder Gabriella Montez.****"**

**-------**

**"What i****s that ****annoying ****sound?"**

**"I****t seems to be getting louder."**

**"No way…"**

**-------**

**Can anyone figure them out? They're not that hard. (; **


	19. Secrets Revealed

**I am so sorry for not updating on my birthday. ****But I have a lot of reasons of why I didn't update. Hah, don't worry I'm not going to bore you with them. (; ****Aside from that, you must know that text messages, and music are very distracting**** things****. Haha. ****Just know that I'm trying my best to update faster. Be sure to pay close attention to a couple of details in this chapter. They'll come in handy soon enough.**

**And thank you to all that reviewed my ****Troyella**** drabble, **_**Nicknames**_**. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Take a look at it if you haven't. (:  
**

**Who's That Girl**

**Chapter 1****7- Secrets Revealed**

**Nobody's POV-**

_Gabriella took a deep breath, closed her eyes tighter, and __prepared herself to die…_

She took the blade, and ran it against her skin. On one of lines she had traced, scratched her and made a mark. She ran the blade on top of the mark. Once she had reached the center of it, she tentatively cut it. She winced as the cold metal pierced through her delicate skin. Before the blade went in even two centimeters deep, she pulled it out and placed it on the countertop of the sink.

Gabriella took in a deep breath as she felt pain, and her own blood trickling out of her cut she had just made on her neck. She opened her eyes slowly as she looked in the mirror before her and saw someone she didn't recognize anymore. This wasn't who she was. As a thought came to her head, she sadly smirked to herself in recognition. She hadn't been her for a long time. What was the difference now?

She picked up the razor again, and trailed it along her neckline, trying to find the pulse line of her neck. She finally found it, and started to add pressure, when she suddenly let go of it. The razor dropped from her hand, and fell to the floor. She felt her knees giving out, as she sat down on the floor, clutching her legs in desperation for some stability. She opened her eyes, seeing the room spin. She silently laughed to herself. She knew that the cause of the dizziness was from not eating for two weeks, and losing so much blood.

She repeatedly hit her head on the door behind. She felt stupid, and weak. Stupid, because she miscalculated this part of her second suicide attempt. And weak, because she couldn't do it. She couldn't make herself die with a razor, and in her own home. But deep in her body, she felt as if she had to. If she did, then everything would just float away, and it would alleviate the pain she and everyone have been feeling.

All of the pressure and stress of dying there, right on that location came to her. If she died this way, then everyone would feel more pain. She would feel the pain in her neck, and her whole body, as the blood would come out. Her family would feel pain knowing that they're living where she died. Her friends would be living in the neighborhood she died. She sighed, and closed her eyes tightly again, just to try to block it all out.

"Why am I doing this to myself? There's an even faster way to give them want they want," She said outloud, as she stood up, feeling the room decrease in its spinning, and opened her eyes.

"And what they really need from me. Freedom from this pain." Gabriella took in a deep breath, and smiled fakely to herself in the mirror.

"Plus, it will finally relieve me and them of all of this pain. This time, nobody will be able to save me."

-------

The hospital room was filled with a thick tension. All of the eight friends, were deep in thought. They were all worried about Gabriella, and what she was doing right now, where she had gone, and why she left. Jason had not been over exaggerating with his imagination when he said that Gabriella could possibly be committing suicide right at that moment. Each of the teenagers were fearing for her life, and were blaming themselves for the cause of her depression.

"Jason." Everyone looked up at Sharpay, as he answered.

"Yeah?"

"Do you still want to know why I was being as stubborn as I was before?" He looked at her in question, as she sighed.

"Me being sorta bipolar." He ohh-ed and nodded.

"Why were you that way, Shar?" Zeke questioned his girlfriend, as the rest looked up, waiting for her answer. The blonde pursed lips, before answering.

"Truth is, a day before Melanie played that tape, Gabriella blew up on me for the first time in our friendship when I told her to go tell Troy her true feelings." She began, and sighed. "I knew she was mad at me, but not to the point where she'd yell." The blonde reasoned as she looked towards the floor. "After that, Melanie played the tape, and I was absolutely astonished that Gabriella would do something like that. I wanted to go talk to her, but I didn't have a chance to."

"After Taylor yelled at her, I just followed suit. I didn't want to, but you guys know my temper." Sharpay paused, as everyone nodded for her to go on. "I chose to go to her house two days after that. To let both me and her cool off." She explained. "You know, to actually have a civil talk with her. But when I went, I didn't get that chance, since Kelsi beat me to it."

"Gabriella is a great person, it amazed me that she would be best friends with me. Boring old Sharpay, with multiple mood swings." She shook her head. "I knew that one day, she'd change, get a new best friend, and replace me. When I saw Kelsi and Gabriella interacting, it was so sweet." She stated. "But I also felt my heart wrenching that day. It hurt to see her replacing me." Tears started to build in her eyes.

"I dealt with my pain the way I usually do. I became the ice queen. I didn't listen to anyone. I became stubborn. And I had almost gotten over it too." She bit her lip. "When Tay and I went to the hospital, and visited her, I ran out during half the conversation. I couldn't take seeing her in there." Sharpay rationalized. "Taylor ran after me, but I told her to go wait for me in my car, while I apologized to Gabriella. When I went back in, I saw Kelsi and Gabriella talking, it was so heart warming, but it hurt me. Again, my icy posterior came up. It was like a cycle."

"To think of it, every time I tried to protect myself, was another inch that I drove Gabriella off a cliff. I brought her to this state. Because of my selfishness, I made her this way." The blonde stated, sadly. "I should've just give in that I was being replaced. If I just had, then we wouldn't be here right now. We would've probably kicked Melanie's ass, and be hanging out together." She finished, as a tear ran down her face. Zeke brought her in for hug, as he wiped it away. Everyone stayed silent, reeling in the information that Sharpay had just given them. Kelsi shook her head, and walked over to her.

"It's okay, Shar. I wasn't trying to replace you or Tay. I was just trying to help her. I swear." Kelsi stated, determinedly, as Sharpay giggled slightly.

"I know, and it's fine. I just couldn't deal with myself." She replied, as she smiled. "Let's just focus on finding Gabi, right now?" She pondered, her attitude changing completely from sad to a happier and demanding one. Everyone nodded in agreement, as she wiped her eyes free of the tears.

"Kels, was she cured of her depression?" The blonde questioned, as Kelsi shook her head.

"No. I think that there's a really high chance of her committing suicide right now."

"But-" Taylor cut herself off. "Then- I mean- She wouldn't, would she?"

"Actually, I think she would."

"No! Kelsi, stop lying!" Chad exclaimed frantically, as the mood was completely lifted, and became a little lighter than before.

"Sadly, I'm not. When I first talked to her today, she said she was confused. My bet is that she's confused about living or not."

"Oh my god." Troy stated, as he started to pace the room.

"Where would she go?" Ryan asked in apprehension.

"Let's check if she went home?" Jason suggested.

"Do you really think she would go…" Kelsi trailed off, seeing the look of her friends' faces. She immediately nodded and agreed. "Yeah. Okay, let's go."

-------

The group of seven went their perspective ways, and finally arrived at Gabriella's house. They carefully went up the pathway, and saw that the front door was open. They all looked at each other in question. But no one had an answer it to. Kelsi and Troy recalled closing the door last night. The two both smiled brightly and looked at each other. They knew that they were thinking of the same thing.

"Guys, I think she's here." Kelsi alerted them excitedly.

"Why?" Chad questioned in confusion.

"Because, yesterday when Troy and I were here, the door was close. Not open." She explained, as he oh-ed and nodded.

"She has to be here." Troy stated reassuringly, clutching his hand, as he nodded, walking inside first with Kelsi trailing right behind him. The others stood outside of the house awkwardly thinking about how they'd treated Gabriella before following Troy and Kelsi hesitantly.

-------

"Hey Uncle Davey." She greeted, as she saw him.

"Hello, Melanie." He returned, looking around the room.

"Where's Troy? Wasn't he just here?" The blonde shrugged.

"Oh, he just left." She stated, as she continued to fiddle and file her nails.

"I see. I trust it that he gave you your cds?" David asked, making Melanie drop her nail file in shock. Melanie had a look of clear fear on her face. Her mouth and eyes were wide open when she looked up at him. "W-what do you mean?" she stuttered.

"Your cds. The ones we used for Plan: GM's Living Hell." He replied, not knowing why his niece was being that way. Melanie's eyes widened in realization, as she picked up her nail file and purse. She cursed herself for not thinking about the possibility of Troy finding those tapes. She also cursed Stacy for coming up with the 'brilliant' idea of bringing Troy there.

"Fuck!" She cursed, as she broke her nail, accidentally slamming it on the desk chair.

"Melanie!" He scolded, as she rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, uncle." She replied sarcastically as she walked towards the door.

"What's wrong?" he questioned in concern. She shook her head.

"Nothing! I've got to go. I'm borrowing one of your cars, later!" She exclaimed quickly, dashing out of the room.

"Mel-" He began, but was cut off by the door shutting close. He brought both of his hands up to his forehead rubbing it tentatively.

"What the hell is up with that girl?" David asked out loud, to himself. "I knew my brother should've had a son. Less confusion." He muttered, walking out of the studio, and into a different room in his office.

-------

"She's not in here." Chad stated, coming out of the kitchen.

"She's not in here either." Kelsi replied, returning from the den.

"Sharpay?" Troy called out.

"Not in the office either." She replied.

"Ze-" He started, but was cut off by Jason running down the stairs.

"Guys, come up here, you've got to see this!" he exclaimed, running back up.

"Why, what's wrong?" Troy asked. Jason merely motioned for them to come from the top of the staircase. Troy and the rest reluctantly followed.

"It's her diary." Jason explained, as he held it up from the bed.

"And a scrapbook?" Ryan questioned, as he looked at it.

"Let's look at the diary first." Taylor suggested, as Jason tried to access Gabriella's diary.

"It won't open." He claimed, sadly.

Kelsi examined it. "It looks like you need a key for that." She stated.

"But such a weird shaped one?" Chad wondered, making everyone look closer at the lock.

"I don't know." She shrugged. "Just look at it closely, does it resemble anything Gabriella owns?"

"Her locket!" Taylor exclaimed, in realization.

"What?"

"The one her grandfather gave her a week before he died, remember?"

"But that wouldn't fit." Zeke reasoned, as Troy nodded.

"It would, if there was a thing with that…shape… her bracelet!" Sharpay yelled, happily.

"What, now?" Jason asked in confusion. The blonde rolled her eyes.

"She has a matching bracelet that goes with it." She answered.

"But where would it be?" Nobody had the answer to that.

"Let's try to find it." Ryan suggested, as everyone spread out and tried to find it.

Jason, looked under the bed, on top of it, in the covers, and comforter. Sharpay had looked in her closet, searching on the floor of it, and throughout her clothes. Troy, had tried looked around her desk, underneath her trinkets and school supplies. Taylor tried looking in her dresser, as she sifted through her clothes. Chad tried looking under her desk, and looked inside the small ornament boxes.

Zeke, had tried looking in her jewelry box. Ryan, looked around her nightstand, searching inside the draw, and under the lamp. Kelsi, looked in the bathroom, as she let out a small scream. Lines of 'what's wrong' and 'are you okay' filled the room, as she yelled for the other to come inside the bathroom. Each person shuddered in fear as the saw blood, and the tool that caused it, the razor. The blood was still wet, seeing so, Kelsi had a little bit of hope inside of her.

"It's still wet. Maybe she was just here." She reasoned.

"But blood does take a long time to dry, Kels." Taylor stated, as her mood deflated immediately. The gang went back outside, and continued their search.

"I think I found the locket!" Zeke exclaimed, as everyone focused their attention on him. He held it up proudly, as he tried to attach it to the lock on the diary. No luck, it was too big, and it barely fit in the hole.

"That's not right." He stated, as everyone else groaned in anger. They all went back to searching. Five minutes passed, and Troy stomped his foot on the floor in aggravation.

"Ughh, let's just look at the scrapbook first. We'll find the key later." Troy stated out of frustration, as he picked up the scrapbook, and sat on the floor. Sharpay rolled her eyes, and shook her head at his impatience.

The eight, all gathered around, and opened the book. They went through various pictures, and keepsakes that Gabriella had delicately put together on the pages. She had added little quotes and captions to everything, making the memories seem even greater than they already were. As the pages lengthened on the left side, they decreased on the right side. Nearly, on the last page, Troy stopped abruptly, turning back to the pervious page that they were on, before anyone could see what the upcoming page held.

"Why'd you turn back?" Ryan asked, as Troy shook his head.

"Look." He stated, as he showed the blank pages that were to come. He flipped back to the same spot they were on once again, as he separated the two pages that were stuck together. The gang looked, down and saw that very picture, that Gabriella had last stuck in there. It was the picture of them at the park. Underneath it, was a caption of, "_Last Memory Ever_." Before anyone could comment on it, they heard a strange knocking sound.

-------

"Hey Mark." She greeted on the phone, as she cruised down the freeway and made her way to the Peanut Diner.

"Oh hey, Lanie. What's up?" She smiled, admiring herself in the mirror.

"You know that favor you owe me?" Melanie asked smugly.

"The one where I get you to do a free job?" He questioned in response. She nodded, realizing he couldn't see her.

"Yeah." He shook his head on the other line.

"Who do you want me to hurt now?" He queried.

"I don't want to you to just hurt." She started. "I want you to murder Gabriella Montez." She stated with venom in her voice, when she said Gabriella. Mark raised an eyebrow.

"Does she have any relation to Nathan Montez, the dude you told me to run over last time?" She smirked.

"Yes. If you must know, Gabriella is that dick's daughter. I hate her." He chuckled.

"Okay. When do you want the job done?" She pursed her lips, as an evil grin appeared on her face.

"Now." she answered. "I can't waste any time."

He sighed. "Where does she live?" She rolled her eyes.

"On Viger Street, House 1034." She answered, as he wrote it down.

"On my way. I'll have the job done in about an hour or two. Three tops." He replied, as she frowned.

"Wait, why so long?"

"I'm not in Albuquerque right now. Out of town." He explained, as she groaned.

"Ughh, whatever." She hung up not even waiting for a good-bye.

-------

"What is that annoying sound?" Chad questioned, looking around.

"It seems to be getting louder." Jason suggested, as everyone else looked at the door, and bathroom.

"Hey guys, over here!" They heard a faint voice yell, as they looked over to the balcony.

"No way…" Troy stated, trailing off.

"Cameron!?!" Kelsi exclaimed in shock.

**And Cameron returns!**

**I'm still in a writing slump. Plus it's late over here, and I'm really tired right now. So ****sorry if that chapter sucked. I know, I know, you guy are like, '_WTF? Where'd Gabriella go?_' That'll be answered next chapter. No worries. Next update should be soon. I've already gotten a head start on the next chapter. Reviews are love. (;  
**

**-ilyilyx3**

**Sneak Peak-**

**No sneak peak.**** Aren't you all sad? –****insert**** sarcasm here-****I know, I feel the pain too. ****d:**


	20. Deceit

**Hah, soon was****n't**** very soon, right? I have a reason for that. It's because there's so much emotion in this chapter. It was hard to write. This is the hardest chapter I've written for this story. I've rewritten it over and over. But, I think this version would be good enough. Hope it lives up to expectations. (: **

**Who's That Girl**

**Chapter 18- Deceit**

**Nobody's POV-**

"Cameron!?!" Troy exclaimed, in shock. He went forward, and opened the door for him to come in. Cameron grinned at the rest's surprised faces.

"In the flesh and in person." He stated, happily.

"What are you doing here?" Troy questioned, as Cameron gave him a look of disbelief.

"Hello, we planned this." Cameron answered in a 'duh' tone.

"Oh, right." Troy's face contorted into confusion. "Wait, weren't you supposed to be here tomorrow?" Cameron nodded sheepishly.

"Hah, about that." He paused, rubbing his neck. "I asked the jet to stop in Texas, and I grabbed a two hour flight here. No big deal." He shrugged. "Now, where's my cousin?" Nobody dared answered him. He furred his eyebrows, as he looked at their guilty faces.

"Guys, where's Gabriella?" He asked again, as he noticed the bathroom, that was covered in blood. He paled.

"W-why is there blood on the floor?" He wondered fearfully, as anger filled his body. He turned to Troy. "Troy, I told you to protect her! I swear on my grandfather's grave that if you or your stupid girlfriend is the reason for this, I will fucking kick-" Kelsi cut his rant off.

"No Cameron. It's not the idiot or the idiot's girlfriend's fault." She stated.

"Then who is it?"

"Mine." He looked at her in confusion.

"What do you mean?" She sighed as she prepared to tell him what happened.

"Gabriella committed suicide, Troy and I found her and brought her to the hospital. After that, he left to go on a date with Melanie." She started, as everyone started to glare at him. Troy immediately looked down in shame. Kelsi disregarded him.

"I went to tell these guys," she paused, motioning to them. "Then they somehow found a tape proving Melanie's plan to ruin Gabi's life." She shook her head, showing she didn't know how they did. "I went to visit her. She told me to go outside for a couple of minutes to get her food. I came back inside to find them inside, and her gone." She continued.

"And now she's missing, and we're trying to find her. But she's not here, and we can't get this stupid diary of hers to open!" She ranted on, as she jingled the lock, and was about to throw the diary on the ground. Cameron caught it, before it touched the floor. He sighed out of relief.

"Kelsi, don't break this. This was our great-grandmother's diary." He explained, as he lightly placed it on Gabriella's bed. He turned to face them again. "For one, you guys are stupid for not believing her." He started, as he pointed to them. He turned to Troy. "You, a dick, for dating a witch and not knowing." Cameron paused for dramatic effect. "And last, I have a set of keys to open that, you know." He said, as he referred to the diary.

"You do?!" Sharpay exclaimed, as Cameron shrunk back throwing his hands up.

"Yeah, before our grandpa die, he gave Gabriella and me each sets of keys to open that. I have one of my own. He wanted us to remember him, and his side of the family." He clarified, as Jason gaped at him.

"You have a diary?!" He yelled out stupidly, as everyone turned and glared at him. He took a step back, throwing his hands up in defeat.

"Stupid moment, stupid moment. I'm shutting up. Carry on." He replied quietly, sitting down on the bed. Cameron cleared his throat.

"As I was saying, I have the set on me right now." He continued, as is he were never interrupted.

"You wear a locket and bracelet with you!?" Jason blurted out. Everyone gave him death glares. He shrunk back onto his bed.

"Stupid moment, take two." He stated, looking down, as Kelsi sighed.

"Carry on Cam." He nodded.

"And I keep the keys in my wallet." He told them, as he fished his wallet out of his back pocket, and opened it. He pulled it out of the zipper, and showed it to them.

"See?" The rest nodded, as Sharpay beamed.

"Perfect!" She called out.

"Now open it." Taylor told him, as she handed him Gabriella's diary. He nodded and opened it with his keys. He flipped to the middle of the book, and to a random page.

"Hey. Umm, not to scare you or anything, but this'll be my last entry." He read out loud. "No, this isn't one of those bizarre diary funerals that happen when the owner's grown too old." Cameron smiled at her joking personality.

"This entry is for future references. No more, no less. Anyway, I just wanted to say bye. I can't possibly be stopped-" Cameron's reading aloud was interrupted by a scream. He and Kelsi looked up at saw Taylor with tears in her eyes, next to a Chad that was holding a razor to his wrist.

"Oh my god." She breathed out.

"Chad, what the hell are you doing?" Cameron questioned, as he shrugged.

"Gabriella felt so much pain, and I'm supposed to be her big brother." He said "I'm supposed to feel the pain too." He finished, in a shaking voice, as he prepared to run the razor across his hand. Taylor stopped him before he could.

"Chad…don't." Zeke stated, shaking his head.

"Why not? Gabi did it." He argued.

"But we weren't there for her when she did." Ryan reasoned.

"And we are here for you." Taylor stated.

"We're here right now." Sharpay added in. Chad reluctantly lowered the razor, and threw it to the floor. He sighed.

"This really tops the cake, you know? I mean, I was feeling bad before, but now…" Chad trailed off.

"It's an overload of guilt and anger." Troy stated, as he sighed. "Let's just get back to reading her diary."

-------

The nine teenagers read page after page of her diary, each had tears in their eyes. With every passing page of misery that Gabriella had expressed, the more tears weld up in their eyes. After they had finished looking through all of her pages, they placed the diary back onto her bed.

"I can't believe we didn't trust her. She's our best friend for god's sake." Sharpay expressed sadly. No one knew what to say to that.

Cameron sighed, as he looked through her diary once again, trying to find anything to help them find her. He flipped through the last of the book, and found a very messy entry. He looked at it in confusion, as he read its contents to himself.

"Oh my fucking god." He stated, as everyone looked at him weirdly.

"What's wrong?" Sharpay questioned, looking at his shocked expression.

"She wants to go to the Peanut Diner, and jump off of the roof." He replied in a monotonous voice.

"What?!" Zeke exclaimed.

"Are you serious!?" Chad yelled in disbelief.

"I-it says so right there." Cameron answered, point at the entry he was on. The rest rushed to his side, and peer down to the page, and read what Cameron had pointed out. Surely enough, it said that exact same thing he said.

"Oh my god. Guys, we have to save her before she does this." Kelsi said, tearfully. "We can't let her die."

-------

Gabriella had heard a couple of cars pulling up outside of her house. She sighed in frustration. Kelsi and Troy were not going to give up! She closed her eyes trying to think of a plan to get out, and end her life the way she wanted. She quickly ran over to the balcony, and retrieved her locket she threw out there. She opened her diary, and turned to one of the last pages. She took the pen, and quickly wrote a false note of what she was going to do, inside.

Upon hearing footsteps downstairs, she locked her diary, and threw the locket back onto the balcony windows. She tossed the diary back onto her bed, and opened the balcony door, and climbed up the tree as quickly as she could. From the tree, she watched as Jason ran up the stairs, and into her room, before shorting running out, and inside again, with the rest of her friends. She observed them looking through the scrapbook, and searching around her room for the key.

Suddenly, she felt someone climbing up the tree she was on. She looked down in confusion, seeing that everyone else was already in her room. She looked down closely as saw that it was Cameron. Her eyes watered at the sight of her cousin. _'__That was the surprise __Kelsi__ was referring to.__'_She thought in her head. She silently shook her head as she climbed higher up the tree. She didn't want to be found.

From the higher angle, she looked down at her balcony, and saw Cameron freaking out, and yelling at them. Soon, they were opening and reading her diary. She climbed down a little lower, to hear what they were saying, since the doors were open.

"…Peanut Diner, and jump off of the roof." She listened to Cameron speak.

She droned off, not listening to them, but instead looking at Troy. He had a serious face on. He looked like he was in deep concentration. She wondered what he was thinking about. She sighed, thinking that she would never see them again. She took a close look at all of them, to memorize how they look. She closed her eyes, trying to hide her tears, but eventually one fell anyway.

"…save her before she does this." She heard Kelsi saying. She shook her head sadly.

"I'm so sorry guys." She spoke out to herself. "It just has to be done this way."

She looked at the rest of them departing her room, as Chad came back inside and knocked Troy of of his daydream. She saw Troy's defeated face, as he stood behind for a couple more moment. Eventually, he ran after the others and Chad. She sighed. She could guess what he was thinking by his facial expressions. He was probably feeling guilt. Guilty, that his girlfriend was the one who cause this.

She was knocked out of her thought once she heard the sound of cars racing off. She sighed out of relief, and climbed down the tree. She jumped onto her balcony, and took in a deep breath. She was actually going to get to commit suicide peacefully, and without their knowing of where she is, she'll be victorious.

Gabriella walked out of her house, and on her way to her destination. Little did she know she was being followed by a lone figure behind her.

-------

Cameron, Troy, Kelsi, Jason, Sharpay, Zeke, Chad, and Taylor parked their cars in the Peanut Diner parking lot, expecting to see Gabriella on the roof. But she wasn't there. They all got out, and ran inside, hopeful that she was at least safe. They looked around for her, but were shocked to see the person that stood before them.

"Melanie." Troy spat out.

**Slight cliffy. (;**

**Sorry for the shortness of this chapter. I would've added more, but I couldn't, without giving away what would ****happen**** next chapter. But to make it up, I'll make the next chapter super long. (: Next will be up in a week's span. I'm working on it right now.**

**Also, I have to ask this; What do you guys want the gang to do to Melanie? You all know that there's going to be yelling, but anything else? I have a couple of ideas, but I want to hear what you guys think. Nothing too drastic! (;  
**

**Okay, now review! And try to make them long please? I haven't received a long one in a while.**

**-Ilyilyx3**

**Sneak Peak-**

**-------****  
**

_**"You know what I **__**think,**__** I think you're all stupid…"**_

_**"You chose me over her, when she repeatedly warned you…"**_

_**"You guys are really great friends! As if."**_

_**-------**_

_**"If she's not here, then where is she?!?"**_

_**"Let's try splitting up!"**_

_**-------**_

_**"W-who are you?"**_

_**"You really don't want to know."**_

**-------**

**Ahh,**** and the sneak peaks are back. Anyone else excited for the next chapter? (;**** And, sorry for any mistakes!**

**P.S. I updated _The Mental Guy_ two days ago. Go and read it! **


	21. Before She Dies

**A week's span, eight**** days span?**** Hah. Sorry for the extra ****day****'****s**** wait. I've been in a bad mood all week. I can't really function properly much less write when that happens. I become like this ****emo**** ice queen, who does nothing. ****Ehh****, don't ask. But to make up f****or it, I made this ****chapte****r longer than it should be. (:**

**T****hank you so much for the reviews! ****We've hit 400 and up. That's way more than I ever expected for my first full length story. ****Haha. ****Even if I don't reply to them, know that they're much appreciated.**

**Dedicated to: **_**hahaheeheehaha**_** (for the longest review I've ever gotten), and **_**final-fantasy952**_** (for ****spending****like ****an hour reading my story.) You guys rock!**

**Who's That Girl**

**Chapter 19- Before She Dies**

**Nobody's POV-**

"Melanie." Troy spat out.

She gave him a fake look of innocence, as she batted her eyelashes and approached him, snaking her arms around this arm, and grabbing on to it tightly.

"Troy, don't be so…" She paused trying to find the right word. "aggressive in front of your friends." She filled in, trailing her eyes over the rest. "Save it for bed. You know that's where I like it." She finished loudly, making sure they all heard her. She smirked as she saw their disgusted faces. Looking over his shoulder, she didn't realize that Troy himself had a clearly disgusted facial expression decorating his face.

Her face curled up in shock and confusion when she felt Troy grabbing on to her arm, and pushing her away from him. The gang grinned themselves.

"What's wrong, baby?" She asked with widened eyes, slightly shocked. Troy shook his head and snorted.

"Stop fucking around Melanie. You know we never slept together. Much less sleep on the same bed." He hissed. His blue eyes, clouded up with anger, triggering fear in Melanie. "Where's Gabriella?" He asked coldly. Upon hearing _her _name, Melanie pushed away her fear and replaced it with annoyance. She rolled her eyes.

"Probably sleeping with some random guy out on the street. Who freaking knows? I don't know track of that useless piece of-" She was cut off by a slap on her face. She looked at the person who assaulted her and saw Sharpay hovering over her.

"Wanna try to finish that sentence, you skank?" Sharpay questioned, with Kelsi and Taylor beside her, all ready to hit Melanie. The three glared at the girl before them. Melanie pouted, sticking her lower lip out lower than needed, before turning to Troy.

"Troy! Are you going to stand for that? That, that… slut, over there just fucking slapped me!" She yelled, pointing at Sharpay. "It hurt so much! Aren't you going to do anything to the dumb Barbie with her weird chef boyfriend!?" She exclaimed, pretending to clutch her cheek in pain. Zeke took a step closer to her; ready to pound her face in, when Chad and Jason held him back, telling him that it wasn't worth hitting a girl.

"Aww, does it hurt?" He cooed, as she nodded quickly. He laughed sardonically.

"Great. I wouldn't have had it any other way. By all means Shar, slap her all you want." He told her, and he turned his head to the others. "You guys too." He shook his head. "Do whatever you want. I won't care anymore. I would care if Melanie wasn't such a priss, perhaps?"

The moment Melanie heard that, she frowned, dropping the act. She knew that they all knew what she did. She still smirked inwardly as she remembered that she had sent Mark to kill Gabriella. All she had to do was distract them long enough, and Gabriella would be dead in no time.

"Whatever do you guys mean?" She asked, with mock innocence. Taylor took a step forward.

"What do you think we mean?" The brunette demanded with an attitude, glaring at the blonde in front of her. Melanie simply sent her a smug grin.

"You know what I think, I think you're all stupid." She answered, nodding her head. "Do you understand?" She replied saying each word slowly. Chad scoffed.

"How are we stupid?" He challenged her. She rolled her eyes at his lame attempt.

"You really, want to know. Nice." She told him, as she took a step back standing directly in front of all of them.

"Let's see…" She trailed off, putting her hand up. "You chose me over Gabriella, when she repeatedly warned you." She stuck one finger up. "I mean, come on. Aren't you guys her 'best friends'?" She pondered, making air quotes at the phrase best friends. She added another finger. "Two, you slapped her, and ignored her over a stupid recording my uncle made. Gullible much?" She lifted a third finger up.

"Three, you stood up for me, when she was the one you should've help." She smirked at them. "If ignoring her and driving her to depression, throwing her on the brink of dying is what friends are for, then congratulations!" She exclaimed throwing her hands up and clapping. "You guys are really great friends." She stated sarcastically. "As if. My dog is a better friend then any of you are. And he's dead."

-------

The eight teenagers walked out of Gabriella's bedroom. They went down the stairs, before realizing one of them weren't present.

"Hey, where's Troy?" Kelsi asked, as everyone shrugged in response.

"Maybe he's still in the room?" Chad tried, making Ryan nod his head.

"Yeah. Guess so. He was in a weird daze back there." He added in.

"Ehh, I'll go bring him back to Earth." Chad stated, as he walked back up the stairs, and into Gabriella's room. Inside, he saw Troy just staring off into space. He nudged, him breaking him out of his daydream.

"What?" Chad shook his head, and nodded towards the door.

"Let's go. We're gonna save your 'Brie' and you two can go back to your flirty days." He told him, grinning smugly. Troy shook his head, and chuckled.

"Sure. Say what you want man." Chad laughed, as he walked out of the door, and rejoined the rest.

"Hey, where is he?" Cameron questioned Chad, making him stop dead in his tracks.

"What?" He asked, as he looked around him. He groaned, realizing that Troy still didn't follow him. "Here-" He started, but was cut off by Ryan.

"Nah, I'll go this time." He stated, as he went up the stairs. By the time he got up there, Troy zoomed past him. He was about to go after him, but he soon heard leaves rustling. He raised his eyebrows in confusion, as he peered through the small crack in the door hinge. His eyes widened, seeing brunette locks. He immediately ran down the stairs to tell the others, but soon decided against it.

He had to trick Gabriella into thinking they were all gone so she'd actually leave the tree, instead of just staying there. He took a deep breath silently thanking the fact that he used to act. He smiled as he saw the rest looking up at him expectantly.

"What took you so long?" Jason asked, as Ryan pretended to clench his thighs together. He started to squirm around.

"Guys, I need to go to the bathroom." He said in a pained voice, shaking his head. "I had to wobble all the way down here." He stated in a small voice.

"Then why didn't you just go man?" Chad questioned in confusion.

"Yeah, we don't need to see the potty dance." Jason chimed in, as the rest laughed.

"Ha-ha. Funny, Jase. You guys go first. I'll catch up with you later." He told her, as he started wobbling up the stairs again.

"Hurry up!" Sharpay exclaimed, as he nodded.

"Will do." He answered. He waited until he heard all of them leave, before walking back up the stairs, as he normally would. He looked through the crack again, and to his amazement, it was indeed Gabriella.

He saw her maneuvering her way off of the tree and onto her balcony. She walked inside her room, looking around, and started to walk his way. He panicked, and hid away in her parents' room. He watched her leave the hallways, and down the stairs. Seeing that it was safe to go out without being noticed by her, he walked out and kept a safe distance away from her. He followed her out of the house silently, watching as she went her way straight towards her destination. Taking in the familiar surroundings, he knew exactly where she was going.

-------

"You did not just compare us to a dead dog!" Sharpay screeched, as she turned to Zeke. "She did not just compare us to a dead dog!" She turned back to Melanie. "You did not just fucking compare us to your damn dead dog!" Melanie scoffed, and waved her hand in a flicking motion before raising it to her ear.

"Are you deaf, you little blonde priss?" She questioned and took a step forward. "I. Just. Compared. You. To. My. Fucking. Dead. Dog." She spat out, punctuating each word with a poke to Sharpay's chest. They had attracted everyone else who was in the diner's attention now.

Sharpay immediately punched her nose, as she yelled in pain. "Watch it! I just got that fixed from when that Gabriella bitch hit it! It cost thousands!" The spectators gasped at hearing about Melanie's nose job.

Kelsi shook her head, before jumping on Melanie's back. She threw her hands around her neck, scratching it with her nails. Taylor stepped closer to them, and pulled the blonde's hair. Surprisingly, the hair was a wig, and it came off. Zeke laughed, and took a glass of soda, and threw it on her, carefully trying to avoid spilling it on Taylor or Kelsi. Melanie's chest shockingly absorbed the liquid quickly. The toilet paper inside of it fell out, and rest on her feet. She screamed, feeling a slide of cake hitting her chest. She looked up at saw Chad licking his finger.

"Enjoy the cake." He stated smugly. "Compliments of Jim." He finished, motioning over to Jim himself, who was laughing his head off.

Jason decided to join in the fun, as he picked up her wig, and threw it at her chest. It immediately stuck to it, because of the cake. She began spitting out a couple of strands of her 'hair' that flew in her mouth. Suddenly, she felt Kelsi getting off of her, and everyone stepping away from her. She looked at them in confusion, before screaming once again, when she felt someone dumping milk on her whole body.

"What the hell!?! I'm allergic to diary products!!!" She yelled angrily. She turned around and was face to face with a smirking Cameron, who held a large empty tub of milk in his hands.

"Thank Troy for that tidbit." He replied, grinning at her shocked and angry expression. She turned and faced Troy. She glared at him intensely. Her whole body was swelling and burning from the contact of the milk.

Everyone that was watching, gasping at the sight of Melanie Green, having a bloody nose that was slightly peeling itself off, short brunette hair instead of her normal wavy blonde hair, cake and a wig stuck to her chest, a whole bunch of scratch marks on her neck, covered in milk, completely red and swollen, and toilet paper coming out of her chest. They started laughing at the ridiculous sight, and took pictures and videos of her.

She gasped immediately, seeing the flashes from outside the diner, and tried to cover herself.

"Glad you like the photogs. I called them in." Troy told her, as she felt tears coming to her eyes. Soon enough, her anger overcame her embarrassment and sadness, as she stood up straight, and held her head high. She shook her head at the eight people in front of her.

"You might not be able to pay for that, but Gabriella will." She spat out angrily. "I will make sure that that precious little bitch of yours with suffers before she dies." She screeched, walking out of the diner in frustration, and trying to avoid the paparazzi following her. The gang laughed out loud, before thanking Jim, and walking out of the diner. They stopped abruptly, realizing what Melanie had just said.

(**A/N:** They all say this part at the same time.)

"If Melanie just left…" Cameron trailed off.

"Gabriella's not with her…" Taylor paused, as her eyes widened.

"The fake bitch wants to kill her-" Sharpay stopped herself.

"She wants to make Gabi suffer-" Jason started.

"But her plan…" Zeke shook his head as his mouth opened in realization.

"She wrote-" Kelsi cut herself off.

"In the diary…" Chad began

"Where the hell is Gabriella!?!" They all yelled at the same time, looking at each other fearfully. They then all looked over to Troy who had been silent for a while now.

"What's up man? Why are you so freakishly quiet now?" Chad asked him, as his eyes suddenly widened as his body shot up.

"The diary was a trap!" He exclaimed, as he threw his hand up. The rest looked at him in confusion.

"What?" His eyes trailed from side to side, realizing her full plan.

"Gabriella deliberately wrote that so we'd come here. Then she would have the perfect amount of time to escape and die without us stopping her!" He explained, shaking his head.

"Oh my god." Sharpay groaned angrily.

"We're so stupid!" Kelsi yelled in frustration.

"Ughh, where do we go now?" Cameron questioned, not knowing where his cousin would go. It had been a while since his last visit to Albuquerque.

"Everywhere." Troy answered bluntly.

"But… If she's not here like she said she would be, then where is she?!?" Taylor questioned, tears appearing in her eyes.

"Let's try splitting up." He suggested, as the rest nodded.

"Umm, Cameron, you come with me, we'll go back to her house. Chad and Taylor, go to the park. Sharpay, you and Zeke head to the school grounds. Kelsi, go up to Lava Springs with Jason." He ordered. "And if any of us find her, or anything else that matters, call the other okay?" The rest nodded in understanding.

"Now go!" Cameron yelled, as the rest left and went their separate ways. He was about to go his own way with Troy, but he didn't feel Troy moving at all.

"Troy?" He called, studying his shocked face.

"Oh my god." Troy breathed out.

"What's wrong?" Cameron questioned carefully.

"Ryan found Gabriella." He replied, happily.

-------

Gabriella sat on the soft white sands of the Santa Fe Beach. She loved it there. As a child, she loved going out to the sea, and watching the waves. It calmed her to the extreme. She loved going there whenever she needed to think. But since it was so far away from her house, she barely got to go. Instead, she confided to herself at the park. On the occasional free day, she'd come down here.

She had always secretly hoped she could die at sea, and today, she could make that hope become real. Gabriella was knocked out of her thoughts by a tap on the shoulder. Thinking that it was one of the others, she stood up ready to run. She looked up and saw a man standing in front of her, completely decked out in black. He even had a black mask on, covering his identity.

"W-who are you?" She questioned, slightly afraid.

"You really don't want to know." He answered, coming closer to her. She took a step back.

"Why are you here?" She asked, her voice regaining some of its confidence, since the voice sounded familiar.

"To kill you." He replied simply, as she rolled her eyes.

"Oh, really. Thanks." She responded sarcastically. He looked taken aback at this.

"What the hell?" He exclaimed, in shock. She smirked, realizing who it was.

"I was going to die anyway. Might as well let you do it." She told him, as she felt a slap to her face.

"Don't you get it?" Melanie hissed. "We're going to make you suffer first. And you can thank your little friends for it." She finished, kicking Gabriella in her stomach. Gabriella, groaned, and fell to her knees. She looked up and almost laughed at Melanie's appearance. She wasn't even sure if it was her by how she looked.

"Melanie?" She questioned, feeling her sight spinning.

"Right in front of you bitch." The blonde spat out.

-------

Ryan sat behind one of the beach's benches, watching Gabriella sit and stare out towards the ocean. He had no idea of why she was here, or what she going to do. They had arrived their about three minutes ago, and he had already texted Troy to tell him to come. All he had to do now was wait for the others to come, and they could corner Gabriella and save her from herself.

He suddenly felt his phone vibrating, looking down, he saw Troy's name appear on the screen.

"Hello?" He answered.

"Ryan, is Gabriella still there?" He questioned, as Ryan turned his back towards Gabriella.

"Yes, she is. Did you take care of Melanie?" Ryan replied, as Troy laughed.

"What happened again?" He asked, as they told him once again what had happened at the diner.

"Then she storm-" Troy started, but was cut off my Ryan.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" He suddenly exclaimed, seeing a dark figure talking to Gabriella.

"Ry-"

"Guys, you better get down to the beach now." He replied, with an urgency in his voice.

"What, why?" The two asked in confusion.

"Oh my god!" Ryan yelled, as he saw Melanie kicking Gabriella.

"Ryan! What's wrong?" Cameron queried, as Ryan shook his head.

"Mel-Melanie's here, and some ass is tying up Gabriella!" He told them.

"What!?!"

"Get. Here. Now. I gotta go help her. Hurry!" He screamed, hanging up. Troy immediately slammed his foot down, and drove his way to the beach. He threw Cameron his phone.

"Dude, here. Call everyone else. Tell them to go to the Santa Fe Beach. Gabriella's in trouble." He told him.

"Wait, what?" Troy groaned in anger.

"Just do it Cameron!" He roared, as Cameron scrambled to call the others.

"Okay, okay. Relax will, Ryan's there I'm sure she'll be fine." He tried, as Troy shot him a death glare.

"I wouldn't worry if MELANIE, and some fucking GUY weren't tying her up!" He yelled, finally telling Cameron what was wrong. His eyes shot open, as he hit the driver.

"Oh my fucking god. Hurry up Troy!" he exclaimed.

-------

"Hello?" Chad answered, midst of parking the car, thus his phone was on speaker. Both he and Taylor could hear what the other person said.

"GototheSantaFebeach!" Cameron stated quickly. Chad looked at his phone in confusion.

"Who is this?" He questioned as Troy groaned on the other end.

_"Stop talking so__ fast!__ Chad won't understand you!__"_ Cameron shook his head.

"Cameron, and Troy. Get to the Santa Fe Beach as fast as you can." He told him.

"Whoa, why? What's up?" Chad questioned.

"Gabriella's in trouble! Melanie has her." Cameron answered, as Chad and Taylor's eyes bugged out.

_"Call everyone else Chad! And hurry!"_ He immediately hung up the phone, and pulled out of the space with one hand on the steering wheel, and the other dialing on his phone.

"Tay, call Kelsi, and I'll call Zeke." She nodded furiously, as she pressed the speed dial for Kelsi's number.

-------

Melanie had been hitting Gabriella, while she was tied up and down on the ground. Ryan had come over, but Mark tied him up to the lifeguard post, and guarded him. Melanie midst of another kick, she froze as she heard a car pulling up. She shook her down head at Gabriella.

"You're lucky your little friends are here. Or else there would've been more suffering." She hissed coldly, as Gabriella laughed.

"Suffering? Oh you mean the sound of your voice? Your appearance? Your face?" The brunette asked, glaring at her. She felt another kick to her shin.

"Say that again, bitch?" Melanie hissed, as Gabriella shook her head.

"Hearing your voice is pure suffering already." She stated proudly. Melanie couldn't take it anymore. She was done with this plan. She looked up from the brunette in front of her and faced Mark.

"Mark, throw her in!" She exclaimed angrily, taking a couple of steps back from Gabriella. Mark sighed as he came and pulled Gabriella up. He started to lead her to the crashing waves.

"Sorry Gabi." He spoke in a quiet voice. Gabriella smiled softly.

"It's okay." She croaked. "Say hi to Claire and Joyce for me, will you?" He nodded to her.

"Of course." He answered, as he realized they were nearing the water. "I loosened the ropes okay? Just pull the knot, and it'll open." He told her, as she nodded. "Stay in for a couple of minutes, only until we leave. Then resurface. You'll live." She smiled at him in gratitude.

"Okay. I'll do it." She lied through her teeth.

"Bye Gabi, hold your breath." He whispered, throwing her in the water.

-------

"Please God, don't let her do this." Troy mumbled to himself, getting out of the car.

"There she is!" Cameron exclaimed, pointing towards their direction. Troy looked over there, and sighed, shaking his head. The two guys ran over to them, before Melanie could run. They back her up to the lifeguard post.

"What the fuck is wrong with you Melanie?!" Troy exclaimed angrily, as she smirked.

"What? She stole what I stole from her. It's only payback." She responded smugly. He shook his head.

"You are such a fucking bitch. I can't believe I ever went out with you!" He started. "I can't believe I even thought of actually falling for you." She and Cameron looked taken aback at him.

"What?" They both exclaimed, as he sighed.

"This is just a slap in the face. I always said that I wouldn't fall for the Devil-Angel crap. And I did." He paused, clenching his fist.

"You're just another one of those stupid girls in those damned clichéd stories." He finished, taking a deep breath, and running towards the water, where Mark stood, taking off his mask.

"Troy?"

"Where's Gabriella!?" He questioned, not looking at the man in front of him.

"She's in the water." Mark answered calmly. "But it's okay, since I loosened the knots. She should be out soon." Troy closed his eyes, waiting for Gabriella to resurface.

If what Mark said was true, then Gabriella would be up in no time, since she was a great swimmer. Only then, did he realize that that was where she went today, out of all places. She came there, when she ran. He noted what the issue was. She was still suicidal. She was going to stay in there, even if she could get out. She was going to die if he didn't jump in to save her.

Finally, he bucked up the courage, took off his shoes, and jumped in. He was going to rescue her. Even if he died trying.

**Ahh****, will Troy save Gabriella in time?**

**Sorry for the constant cliffhangers. It's fun. ****Just not ****if you're ****on the receiving end.**** Haha.**** I'll probably update again next Sunday, maybe earlier. It depends on my mood.**

**Did anyone like what happened to Melanie? Just desserts. Get it? (: **

**Make me happy, and review?**

**-Ilyilyx3**

**Sneak Peak-**

**None.**** I'd give away too much. ****d:**

**And sorry for any mistakes.**** I didn't have the time to fix them. ****But ****I will fix them later**** on when I have time. **


	22. Losing Hope

_**You don't have to read this. Skip down to the A/N or the start of the chapter. **_

* * *

** To: '...' (anon reviewer.)**

**I am very well aware that the first part of my story has major kinks in it. May I remind you that this_ is_ my first story? Besides the first couple of chapters _are_ really stupid and unbelievable. I'll give you that. Don't think that I didn't notice. If you didn't read my note on the trailer, then you wouldn't have known that I _am_ trying to fix it right now. I'm rewriting those chapters to make it all seem more realistic. I'm just having a hard time doing it, since I pretty much dug myself into a hole. If I change anything too drastically from what I already wrote, I'll pretty much have to rewrite the whole story. And I'm trying to not do that since the people who do enjoy this, will have to wait even longer for updates.  
**

**And as for the large unbelievable review amount, didn't you notice that the reviews for this story didn't start picking up until chapter 7/8? That's because the first six were bad, or 'stupid' as you would put it. Duh. I'm not dense, I know that. When the review amount increased, was when my writing became better and more real. Which leads up to right now.**

**I'm not trying to be mean or anything. Believe me on that. I'm not extremely sensitive like most people are. I do thank you for the rough criticism, even though I already knew about it. You know, you don't have to be so irascible about it. You just might make others hate you. (:  
**

* * *

**A/N: I know, I know! This is like a**** week late. ****But really.**** It's not my fault at all. This has been the only moment I've had to myself for weeks! Between school work, my social life, my home life, and ****extracurriculars**** I didn't have time to do anything. I barely had any time to sleep****. Scary enough, this is the first time my laptop's been open since the last time I updated. -.-**

**This chapter dedicated to everyone that has reviewed, or read this story. Thank you for putting up with my 'not updating on time' problem. (x**

**All in all, Sorry!**

**One more thing, sorry for any mistakes that are in here.**** I rushed this chapter, so you guys wouldn't have to wait any longer. I'll probably edit it later on tomorrow. So don't be surprised that this story says updated again, and there's nothing new. That's just me making adjustments. (:**

**Who's That Girl**

**Chapter ****20- Losing**** Hope**

**Nobody's POV-**

Finally, he bucked up the courage, took off his shoes, and jumped in. He was going to rescue her. Even if he died trying.

Troy dived down deep into the clear blue water. He turned his head in all directions, but he couldn't spot a silhouette of the person he was looking for, much less the sea floor. With the strong waves crashing through the ocean, seeing anything was a very hard task. The salt crystals in the water slightly burned his eyes, blinding him occasionally. After he felt his oxygen supply in his lungs decreasing, he swam back up to the surface of the water. He took in a deep breathe, and wiped his eyes quickly, before diving back down.

He had to find her, no matter what happened. In his mind, it was his fault that all of this happened. Somehow, someway, he had to fix this. He had to save her from death.

After a couple of moments of searching, he still couldn't find her. He was beginning to lose hope, until he felt something, more likely someone bumping into him. He looked down, and saw Gabriella right in front of him. She had a shocked expression on her face. She kicked her legs, struggling to get away from him.

He smiled inwardly; glad that she couldn't since she was still tied up. He immediately held on to her waist, and began kicking his legs to bring them back up to the surface.

"Let go of me. I want to die, Troy!" She yelled with a raspy voice. She was panting heavily, having lost her breath under the water.

"Why are you doing this, Brie?" He asked, in a soft voice, slightly out of breath. She shook head her head in a small motion.

"Don't act like you care." She breathed sadly, as hurt found its way onto Troy's features. "Because, I know very well that you don't."

"I don't care?" He questioned in confusion. "If I didn't care, then I wouldn't be here. If I didn't-"

"If you did care then you would've seen this coming." She interjected, tears running down her face. He opened his mouth to respond, but he closed it immediately, hearing her cry out in pure agony.

She clenched her eyes shut, holding her stomach with her tied hands, in pain. She didn't know what was wrong with her. All she knew was that the pain in her stomach was acting up again. She opened her eyes, and saw Troy looking down at her worriedly, as her vision started to spin once again, before blacking out entirely. The last thing she saw was Troy's concerned blue eyes, and the last thing she felt was his shaking hands, griping her cheeks.

"Gabriella?!" He exclaimed, shaking her frantically, trying to find some sort of sign that she was still with him.

The moment that he realized that there weren't any at all, he sighed angrily, shaking his head. He then hoisted her tied arms around his neck, as he wrapped one of his arms around her waist. He balanced most of her body weight onto himself, and began kicking his legs towards the direction of land. Looking back over, he saw a couple of figures standing there. He guessed that the figures were the rest of his friends. Taking another deep breath, he yelled out to them.

"Guys, help!" He yelled exasperatedly. He could feel himself losing all of his energy as he continued to kick. Suddenly, he felt Gabriella becoming very light. Looking over to his right, he saw Cameron swimming beside him. He was partly carrying Gabriella. Troy was now very grateful for the extra help.

"Kick harder Troy! We're almost there." He stated, as Troy nodded and complied to his instructions. Soon enough, the three were back on land. Everyone except Troy breathed out a sigh of relief. He was still worried about Gabriella, since she hadn't been moving at all.

Troy carefully lifted Gabriella off of him, and laid her down. He could feel the rest of the gang crowding around him. But he didn't waste any time asking them what happened to Melanie, that guy that was with her, or when they got there. He ignored everything they were saying, and checked if Gabriella was breathing or not. He laid his head down to her chest, and felt nothing. He took her maimed wrist and tried to feel a pulse, but still, nothing. When he found that she wasn't, he let out a sound of anger, before yelling and telling everyone else to move away from Gabriella and him.

He leaned down, tilted her head back, and listened for breathing, still nothing. He shook his head in frustration, before pinching her nose and covering her mouth with his own. He blew into it, until he saw that her chest had risen. He breathed in and repeated it. He then began giving her chest compressions. He repeated the steps over and over, desperately trying to get her to breathe while everyone else stood and watched him in worry.

-------

Troy sat there, completely numb. He didn't talk to anyone. He didn't answer any questions that were being directed at him. He didn't do anything. All he could do was watch Gabriella being crowded by many doctors. He sat off to the side, deep in thought, until a statement caught his attention.

"We've got the heartbeat steady again. Who's going to ride with her?" He heard one of the medical attendants stating. He immediately stood up.

"I will." His voice cracked, as he turned to the others that were looking at him in amazement. "You guys just trail behind us." He told them, following the attendant into the ambulance where Gabriella was currently laying.

"Will she be okay?" Troy questioned tentatively, as he carefully held her hand, slightly afraid that he was going to hurt her.

"We're not so sure." He answered, as Troy's head shot up, his face filling with worry.

"Why?" He asked, looking back down at Gabriella's unmoving form. The attendant shook his head and sighed sorrowfully.

"Well, we may have gotten her heart steady again, but she still has some intense internal bleeding." He explained. "She was bleeding heavily in multiple parts outside of her body too." He continued, motioning to the cuts on Gabriella's legs and arms. "The salt water from the ocean damaged her cuts, pretty badly." Troy frowned deeply at this.

"Will she at least survive this?" He queried with desperation clear in his voice.

"As I've said before, we're not sure about anything at this point. You've just got to believe that she'll be fine." He clarified, as Troy nodded. "Young man, do know that you helped her survive by performing CPR on her." He progressed, trying to relieve Troy of some of the pain. Troy gave him a slight smile.

"It was her idea that we took classes last summer. She has this weird goal of becoming a lifeguard some time in her life." He annotated, as the attendant smiled.

"She will be a lifeguard, no doubt. And you'll be the one who helped her." He replied, patting Troy's back. "You might even be her assistant."

-------

"Troy!" Sharpay screeched, as Troy's head shot up seeing the eight teenagers approaching him.

"What happened?" Zeke questioned. Troy shrugged, rubbing his face with his hand. He looked down at the floor again. He felt a hand touching his shoulder. He lifted his head up, and noticed Chad's glance on him.

"Troy, speak to us, man." He tried, as Troy shook his head.

"Why would you want to talk to me?" Everyone looked at him in surprise.

"What do you mean?" Kelsi asked, taking a seat next to him.

"I'm the cause of this." He explained. "It's all my fault." He paused and groaned loudly. "God, I just feel like I want to die!"

"Why?" She asked, curiously.

"Gabriella has internal bleeding, her heart almost stopped, almost every inch of her body is covered in cuts!" He exclaimed, almost jumping out of his seat in anger. He paused, taking in a breath and letting it out. "And it's all because of my stupid lapse of judgment." He finished sadly, slumping back down on the chair he was occupying. Kelsi sighed, as everyone wore guiltier looks.

"Troy, it's not entirely your fault." She argued, patting his back.

"Yeah man." Jason stated. "It's ours too." He motioned to the rest of them.

"In fact, it's everyone's fault." Taylor said, trying to help him.

"We should've listened to her. We should've done something." Chad added in. "We should've listened to Kelsi too." He finished, looking at Kelsi. She shot him an appreciative smile.

"It doesn't matter though. None of this does. All that matters is Gabriella being okay." She replied. None of them noticed the doctor that had walked out of Gabriella's room, and down the all towards them.

"Gabriella Montez?" He called out, attracting everyone's gaze. They all stood up and walked towards him.

"Any of you family?" He asked, taking in everyone's different appearance. Cameron took a step forward, raising his hand, slightly above his shoulder.

"I'm her cousin. Her parents are out of state." He answered confidently. The doctor nodded, and motioned Cameron to follow him.

"Very well. Come with me, sir." He replied, walking away from the gang. Cameron tentatively followed along.

-------

"So, what's up?" Chad asked, as everyone's attention was focused on the teenager before them. Cameron shuffled on his feet, before sticking his hands in his pockets, nervously.

"Well, Gabriella's awake…" He replied, playing around with his keys.

"That's awesome!" Sharpay exclaimed happily, jumping out of the hospital seat she was sitting in. Suddenly, her excited face was replaced was a sullen expression. "Why do I sense a but coming on?" She questioned reluctantly. Cameron shrugged, before sighing.

"But… the doctor's told me that she lost a portion of her memory." He explained, biting the inside of his mouth.

"Which part?" He shrugged once again.

"They don't know yet. They haven't asked her." He told the others, noticing that one of them wasn't present. He looked around, before shooting them all a confused look.

"Where's Troy?" He asked, as everyone looked at each other in question. They all didn't know. He looked behind him, and saw Troy's figure heading towards Gabriella's room. He sighed and walked towards that direction.

"Cam…" Ryan called after him, as he turned around and faced them.

"What?"

"What else are you keeping from us?" The blonde demanded, taking a step closer to him.

"That's for me and Elle to know." He returned, shaking his head at her. He gave them a look that clearly said he could not say what it was.

"Cameron." Ryan started, as Cameron stopped him from speaking any other syllable.

"Seriously guys." He stated, throwing his hands up in the air. "Let it go." He finished walking away from them. The rest gave each other a fearful look, before cautiously following Cameron's retreating figure.

-------

"Hey Brie." He greeted cheerfully, making her look up and smile. She patted the space beside her, motioning for him to sit next to her.

"Hey Troy." She returned, laying her hands on her lap. He smiled, sitting down on her right side, near her waist. He carefully linked their hands together.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, looking at her arms, noticing her cuts and bruises. She nodded slightly, before using her free hand to gesture to her stomach.

"A little pain in the stomach, but it's fine. I'm holding up." She reassured him, happily. He bobbed his head, taking her answer to consideration. He gulped, before looking up at her again.

"Do you remember why, you're in the hospital?" He asked, fearfully, as she raised her eyebrow.

"Not really." She admitted sheepishly. 'I can't really remember anything." She answered him, sighing. "But, they told me today's the fifth?" He nodded, taking in her frightened expression.

"Oh my god." She breathed, throwing her head back in frustration. "I can only remember up to the fourth of last month." He looked at her weirdly, before realization dawned on him.

"The week before Melanie came." He whispered quietly to himself.

"What'd you just say?" Gabriella asked, curiously. He shook his head quickly.

"Nothing." He said, seeing her raised eyebrow. He smiled slightly. "Nothing at all." He guaranteed.

"Are you sure?" She questioned, as he nodded, looking over to the nurse beside the two.

"Umm, can we have a little privacy?" He told her, as she oh-ed and nodded.

"Sure. Of course! I'll be back, later okay, Gabriella?" The nurse replied, walking out of the room after seeing Gabriella mouth 'yes' to her. Troy sighed before bringing Gabriella hand up to his mouth. He placed a soft kiss on it, before looking into her eyes.

"You got in here, because we were at the beach earlier. We were swimming, and the waves through you on a huge rock." He told her, explaining what had happened. She nodded, but gave him a disbelieving look.

"Oh, really?" She asked carefully. Troy nodded.

"Yeah. It was so scary. I thought that I would lose you." He exclaimed, drawing invisible designs on the back of her hand.

"…but you didn't." She continued for him. He smiled at her.

"I know, but I felt so bad seeing how I was the one to dared you to swim in the harsh waves." He aspersed, charily. She felt a smile tearful smile making its way on her face. She took in a deep breath.

"Aww, it's okay Troy. I'm all fine now." She stated, hold both of his hands. "Are you sure that's how-" She began, but was interrupted by him.

"Hey Brie?" He called, as she looked up at him.

"Yeah?" She answered, feeling a pair of lips on top of hers. She sat stiff for a moment, before giving in, and kissing him back. After hearing noises from outside of her room, she pulled away. She pursed her lips up slightly, before leaning back on her pillow.

"What was… that for?" She asked him slowly, as he smiled at her.

"Nothing, just because I love you." He confessed, looking at her bemusedly, waiting for a response. Instead, she looked taken aback at his statement.

"W-what?" She stuttered in confusion. He shook his head at her bewilderment.

"I love you." He repeated, taking in a deep breath. He forced out his next sentence. "More than a best friend would. I love you in a romantic way." He explained. She sat there, beside him looking at the ground. Tears began to build up, since she didn't know what to say. She looked up at him, her mouth and eyes sparsely widened.

"I…I-" She struggled to finish her sentence, but was saved by her cousin.

"Troy. They're asking for you outside." Cameron interjected, stepping out of his spot from behind the door. Troy nodded, before looking back at Gabriella, smiling brightly, glad that he finally got it out.

"I'll come back in a bit?" He inquired, apprehensively.

"Yeah." She acknowledged, with a small smile. He took her happy expression, gratefully, before leaving the room. Her cousin took a couple steps towards her, and stopped so that he stood to the left of her bed. His eyes gave her a questioning look, as she bit her lip.

"So?" He questioned fearfully, awaiting the answer that she was about to emit. She shook her head and sighed tearfully, looking away from him.

"He lied." She answered, her voice shaking.

**What does she mean by that? ****d:**

**Don't worry, ****Troyella**** momen****ts will come out soon enough.****This'll be the last rough patch they go through. Which means the story is almost over. ****I've counted it out, and ****there are**** roughly ****six****, seven**** more chapters before the end of the whole s****tory. Give or take. ): I'm sad to see this go. But at least _Money, Love, and Jealousy_ will be back up. And we still have _The Mental Guy_, and my other billion story ideas I have in my head.**

**Uh oh.**** Which reminds me, ****that's**** going to be on another temporary hiatus again. Writers' block will be the death of me.**

**Okay****. Because of these long author's notes, I'm putting sneak peaks for the next chapter. (:**

**-Ilyilyx3**

**Sneak Peak****-**

_**"I-I… can't."**_

_**"Why not?"**_

_**-------**_

_**"You completely betrayed my trust!"**_

_**"I didn't mean to! I only wanted to protect you."**_

_**"From what?**____**You?"**_

___**-------**_

___**"I'm not giving up without a fight**__**."**_

**Guesses? Hahhh I'll try my best to update within this week. Don't hold your breath though. I have a full-packed schedule for the next two weeks. ):  
**


	23. Owed One

**It's unanimous. Everyone wants me to continue this chapter. And I am. Even if you've read this chapter before, reread it… only the last part, of course. That's the only thing that has been added to. Even if it's a cliffy now. (: Oops. I gave it away. Sorta.**

**Who's That Girl**

**Chapter 21- Owed One**

**Nobody's POV-**

"He lied." She answered, her voice shaking. Cameron shook his head and sighed, knowing what this meant.

"Ellie, couldn't you let it go, for just this once? He's a good guy. He probably doesn't want you to be hurt. Maybe that's why he lied." He convinced, with hopeful eyes. He really wanted them to be together already. He could not handle any more drama of tension between the two.

"I know he's a good guy, Cameron." She started, biting her bottom lip. "But I'm just having problems trusting him." She sighed. "You know? Even if he wanted to protect me from knowing all of that pain. He should've told the truth. Besides," She continued, as she laid her head on her pillow, facing the window, and away from her cousin. "We made a promise when we were younger."

Cameron could absolutely relate to her, she had broken a promise to him too. His thoughts started to lead towards those moments, before he shook them off. He wanted to comfort her first.

"Elle-" He began, stopping when he heard the door opening.

"Hey Gabi." Kelsi greeted, as the rest piled inside of her room. Gabriella shot him a desperate look, as he merely shook his head, telling her she had to deal with it. The brunette sighed inwardly, as she looked up to her friends… or ex-friends?

"So…" She started for them.

"We're sorry." The others all expressed in sorrow.

"And we know that there is a huge chance that you won't remember this, but-" Gabriella cut Taylor off.

"Stop." She took in a deep breath, not really sure that she was about to do this. "I remember everything." They all looked at her with shock, etched into their faces.

"What!?"

"But what about Troy?" Sharpay asked. "Why did you…" The blonde trailed off, as realization dawned on her. "That's what it was?" She directed at Cameron. He nodded.

"Yeah." He answered.

She gaped at him. "Cameron! You could've hurt Troy!" She exclaimed, in slight confusion.

"Wait, wasn't he just in here?!" Jason gasped, as multiple possibilities entered his mind. "Did you eat him?" Everyone in the room groaned.

"No Jason." Kelsi answered for him. "I'll take him outside. Come on, Jay. Let's go to the caf." He nodded.

"Okay. Just as long as we're not eating Troy!" He yelled, as she took him out of the room.

"Okaayy. Disregarding that." Chad shook his head at their friend. "Did you at least tell Troy that you remember?" He asked Gabriella, as everyone looked at her for her response.

The brunette shook her head. "No."

"Why not?"

-------

"What are you doing?" Cameron asked, as Troy got up off of his chair.

"I'm gonna go see Brie." He answered simply.

"Dude, are you sure about that? The doctors might not be done yet. And Gabriella might be… sleepy!" He tried convincing him. He needed just a little more time to convince Gabriella of forgiving him.

Troy chuckled, shaking his head. "Jason already assured me. Well, first he hugged me and congratulated me for not being eaten." He shrugged to himself. "Then he told me that Gabriella was wide awake. And the doctors already came out like an hour ago."

"So why are you still going?" Cameron asked, now with more curiosity in his system in what he was going to do.

He shrugged once again. "I just want to ask her something." He answered, walking into Gabriella's room again.

"Hey Brie." He greeted her, and she looked up from her magazine, and gave him a small smile.

"Hi Troy." She returned. He smiled, and brought a chair over to her bedside, before sitting down. He took in deep breathes, before deciding to ask her the sacred question.

"Now before I lose my confidence again, will you be my girlfriend?" He asked, not knowing if this was the right time to ask or not. Her eyes and mouth shot open at his question.

_What did he just say?_

"Excuse me?" She squeaked, in a voice that must've been ten octaves higher than usual.

He groaned at her. "Here it goes, again. Will you be my girlfriend?" He questioned, looking at her in anticipation. She frowned deeply, as she bit her bottom lip.

"I'm sorry, Troy. But the answer is no." She replied.

His head shot up at her. "W-what? But don't you love me?!" He asked in shock. He knew that it was a little out of question, but he still wanted to try. He just couldn't believe that she had rejected him so clearly, and without a reason. At least to him there wasn't a reason. He looked over at her, and saw her exasperated expression.

"I do. But…" She trailed off, leaving him hanging. He leaned forward towards her waiting for her to continue. When she didn't, he spoke.

"But what?"

"I-I… can't." She stammered slightly.

"Why not?" He queried, in confusion.

She took in a deep breath. "To actually be in love with someone, you have to trust that said one." She explained. It did not lessen any confusion on Troy's plate.

"You don't trust me?" He asked, more confused and hurt than ever.

She shrugged, tears forming in her eyes, as she saw the hurt in his. "I don't know." She told him.

"What did I do?"

"You lied to me." Gabriella answered.

He shook his head. "When?"

"Yesterday." She replied, not believing that he wasn't getting it.

"You remember!?" He exclaimed, jumping up out of his seat. "But how?"

"I told Cameron to pretend." She told him.

"Brie, what does that have to do with us? I told a little white lie, big deal." He said, shrugging his shoulders. She scoffed at him.

"It's a big deal to me," She stated. "You completely betrayed my trust!" He groaned, and threw his head back.

"I didn't mean to! I only wanted to protect you." He stated, starting to take deep breaths, and calm him self down, before he yelled at her.

Gabriella shook her head. "From what? You?"

"Or what about your lying self?" She tried. He sighed, and sat down beside her again.

"Brie…"

"Could you just leave Troy?" She told him straight forward. He knew that she wouldn't budge, but he was going to try again.

"Gabriella. I didn't mean to hurt you, or betray you, you know that." He stated, shaking his head. "You do know that." He continued, as he looked at her face, trying to find another reason for her shunning him. "Is this about Melanie?" He asked, knowing that it certainly wasn't the reason.

"No Troy. This isn't about her." She stated fiercely. "This is about us. And that's the thing!" He exclaimed in frustration. "You don't understand. You don't understand the freaking pain I went through. You don't understand how I feel, and you certainly don't understand me. At least not anymore. You've changed Troy."

"Brie, I haven't!" He exclaimed frantically, clutching her hand in his.

"Not to yourself, but to me? Yeah." She told him, pulling her hand out of his.

"Brie-" He started, but she cut him off.

"Don't. Just- just leave me alone." She stated, turning her head away from him.

"Brie, don't be like this." He said desperately, touching her face.

"Troy, do you remember the week before you left with your parents for that nine day trip?" She asked, still looking away from him. Instead, she was now looking down at her hands that were currently situated on her lap. "And do you remember when I got the last cookie, but I split it with you since you were begging, and I told you that you owed me one?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" He asked stupidly, now knowing where she was going with it.

She sighed and answered him. "Consider leaving me alone, that owed one." He opened his mouth, ready to retort, but stopped himself. He had to give her some time right? He nodded at her before standing up.

"Just know that I love you okay?" He asked sadly. She sent him a weary smile as he walked out of her room.

"I loved you." She whispered to herself, unsurely. She wasn't certain of what she was feeling at all.

Gabriella suddenly felt a presence near her. She looked up, and saw a dark figure standing in front of her bed, shaking his head down at her.

"That is such a lie, Gabi."

**Cliffy!**

**Haha, sorry I couldn't resist adding that.  
**

**Thank for reviewing, and making me feel better about this chapter. I seriously hated it. Guess you and I all have different opinions. (; Heads up! Only three, four more chapters and an epilogue left. Treasure the moments. Lol. And congratz to Stella, for being my 500th reviewer! Ily, Stell.  
**

**Review, if you haven't. :D **

**-Ilyilyx3**


	24. Cameron Says Try

**Wow. It's been eighteen days already? It went by so fast! Haha. Well. This is a really short chapter. I'm sorry, but I couldn't really add anything else to it to make it longer without giving away the next one. Argh. Two short chapters in a row. ): But if it helps, I'll make the next one longer? Ehh, hopefully.**

**Haha. Some people requested more Cameron. So he gets a nice chunk in this chapter.**

**This chapter is dedicated to: _-loveCory_. Just because she's awesome like that. (:**

**Who's That Girl**

**Chapter 22- Cameron Says Try**

**Nobody's POV-**

"That is such a lie Gabi."

Gabriella looked up, as her eyes widened in surprise. She saw Chad standing in front of her. She quietly averted their eye contact. She couldn't help but still feel a little awkward around him and the rest, excluding Kelsi and Cameron of course.

Chad looked at her curiously, as to why she hadn't responded like she usually did. He suddenly realized why she wasn't saying anything. He nodded at her, taking a seat beside her. He sighed once, before speaking.

"Okay. Maybe Big Bro still does deserve the silent treatment." He told her, keeping his eyes on her, she still didn't say anything. "Well, that's okay. I'll just talk my big mouth off then." He joked lightly. "Umm, for the first part, I'll just say that I'm sorry. Okay, Gabs?" He paused, waiting for her to acknowledge that she heard him.

She nodded stiffly, still not looking at him. He smiled slightly. It was at least something right?

"I'm sorry for doubting you. You know, when we had this life long bond and trust between us." He began, playing around with the sheets on the bed. "I'm sorry for listening to the witch's lies; after we had figured out she was bad." He continued, shaking his head in disgust.

"I'm sorry that I picked her over you." He listed, looking up at her. "And I'm really sorry, Gabs."

"It's just, we were so caught up in the moment." He explained rationally, staring at her morose and thin figure. "We didn't see what was right in front of us." Chad told her, now viewing the cuts and bruises that were on her body. He winced seeing how deep they were, before continuing. "We didn't see that you were getting hurt. Neither did we see the pain we were inflicting on you…" He trailed off, taking a deep breath to resume his explanation and apology.

"And I desperately wish that I could go back in time, Little Sis." He said, finally catching her eyes. "I would do anything to save you from being hurt, Gabs." He chuckled. "Heck, I would go back in time just so we would be able to beat up Melanie over and over again. So that way we get her back for the depression she made you go through." He finished, waiting for her to respond now. He had run of out 

things to say to her. He frowned, as he noticed that she wasn't about to say anything unless he initiated it.

"Gabriella." He called out in a singing voice.

"Yeah?" She answered, trying to digest what he had said in. Sure Chad was one of the ones that had hurt her, but at least he was trying. The entire group had hurt her, not just him. Besides, she had to give him credit for being the first and bravest one to confront her alone. Plus, who could stay mad at such a lovable guy with a poofy afro?

"Will you forgive me?" He asked, pouting at her. He gingerly brought his companion up from the floor.

The brunette opened her mouth to accept, but was cut off by the asker himself.

"And Jimmy?" He questioned, raising the infamous basketball up. She giggled and shook her head, seeing Jimmy in Chad's hands.

"Yes. And always for Jimmy." She replied, having made up her mind.

Chad grinned brightly at her. "Aww, my friends are getting along." He joked, wanting that serious mood to be gone from them forever. She smiled and nodded.

"Can I have a hug now?" She asked. She had missed getting hugs from one of her older brother figures. She frowned in confusion, as she felt Jimmy being thrown into her arms. She looked up at Chad, wanting to know why he had thrown his prized basketball at her.

"Hug Jimmy first." He stated proudly, trying to hide that fact that he was kidding. He bit his lip, trying to hold back laughter as he saw her actually hugging the basketball.

"Now can I have a hug with you now?" She questioned, a little annoyed at how Jimmy smelled. He chuckled, before standing up.

"Of course." He answered. "We'll sandwich Jimmy!" He exclaimed, happily clapping his hands. She rolled her eyes realizing that she had hugged a basketball for a joke.

"Chad…" She warned. He laughed at her, before leaning down to her height, as she stretched up to his.

"I'm just kidding, Gabs." He replied, embracing her tightly. "Take a chill pill, will ya?" She shook her head against his shoulder.

"Now, do you wanna tell me what's going on between you and Troy?" He questioned, referring to the abnormally saddened boy that sat or was somewhere in that hospital. She broke away from their hug, not wanting to talk about this new subject.

"You know the story, Chad." She told him simply. She was now debating whether she should tell him or not.

He silently rolled his eyes at her answer. He had just noticed that her mood had changed so abruptly.

"I do, but not the story behind the story." He said, wanting her to fill in the rest of his curiousity, and answer his question. She only shook her head in response.

"Come on, you can tell Chaddie, and Jimmy." He cooed in his best baby voice. She sighed, before taking the plunge. She was going to have to tell someone soon. So why not Chad?

* * *

Gabriella sat with her knees crouched up to her chest, staring out of the window. So much had happened during the past weeks. So many things had changed too. She wondered if everything would go back to normal anytime soon, because she didn't know herself. This was real life. It can't just be fixed that quickly. As she began to think about what to do next, her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. She looked over, and saw Cameron walking in again.

"Hey Ellie." He greeted, standing near her. He stood a little farther from her than usual. He didn't want to hurt her. He had just talked to her doctor, and she had told him to be careful of her cuts. They had just stitched a couple of them up, and most was recently rubbed with alcohol.

"Chad said you wanted me?" She nodded, noticing how far away he was from her.

"Aren't you going to come closer or anything?" She asked, curiously. "I don't bite, like I did when I was four." She replied, as he chuckled at the memory of when the two cousins had first met.

"I know that much, Elle." He told her, sitting down on her bed, closer than before. "But really, what's up?" He asked suspiciously. She shrugged.

"Nothing. Could you come closer?" She requested, as he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Sure." He responded nervously, suddenly afraid of what the brunette was going to do.

Gabriella noted his nervousness, and laughed at him, before bringing him in a hug. She embraced him tightly, as he hugged her back in confusion. He suddenly felt a tear drop on him.

"Not that I don't enjoy hugging my favorite cousin or anything, but what's up with you?" He asked, truly concerned.

She hiccupped, holding back her tears that were threatening to fall. "Nothing." She replied, clutching onto him. She had really missed seeing him, and had never gotten a chance to hug him since he came to Albuquerque. She guessed that the reasons for her almost crying, was because of her emotions that were getting the better of her again. "I just realized that I never got to welcome you properly. Plus, I missed you." She told him truthfully. He nodded against her, as he let go of her. He reach over to the night stand beside her, and took a tissue from the box of them.

"It's okay." He said softly. "Come on, you had a lot on your plate." He handed her the tissue, as she took a hold of it, and decided to not use it. It only was one tear.

"Yeah, but still. I'm just glad you're here." She stated, smiling slightly. He chuckled before replying.

"Well, I'm glad that you didn't kill yourself." He told her, cocking an eyebrow accusingly at her. She looked down and bit her lip.

"I know it was for a stupid reason, but I just couldn't help it, Cam." She admitted to him. "All of these gloomy emotions were bottled up in me from before, and the Melanie thing just triggered it all I guess." She replied, shrugging.

He nudged her arm gently, careful to not harm any of her self inflicted cuts. "Told you, you had to let go of your feelings." He replied cheekily, grinning at her. Gabriella rolled her eyes at her own cousin.

"Whatever, Cameron." She retorted, shaking her head.

The two relatives fell in a small comfortable silence, until Cameron decided to break it.

"Hey Elle?" She looked up from her hands and at him.

"Yeah?" She asked, wrinkling her forehead in confusion, as she saw her cousin smiling at her. "What?"

"Forgive Lover Boy sometime soon will ya?" He told her playfully, trying to keep the mood light. He had seen how Gabriella's rejection had affect Troy himself. And right now, he really wanted them to get together already. The drama between the two won't stop building. Soon enough, all of its going to come tumbling down if they don't do something.

"Why? He hurt me, Cam." She shook her head sadly. "Must we go back to the Melanie thing?" She asked slightly annoyed. He rolled his eyes at her lame answer.

"You know that it's not about that." He replied fiercely.

She sighed, why couldn't have her uncle and aunt give birth to a dumber person? "I know." She admitted in defeat. "But still!" She exclaimed, her stubbornness starting to show.

"Gabriella." He stated sternly, before softening his voice. "Try for me? I love the both of you." He paused, waiting for her to look up at him. "And I just hate seeing both of you suffer." She scoffed in response.

"I'm not suffering, and neither is he." She replied, her voice clearly showing her frustration and confusion towards the blue-eyed male.

"Shows how much you know." He muttered under his breath, and sighed. "Ell, he's a wreck right now." He told her, remembering back to when he had seen Troy walk out of the room, devastated from being rejected. "He can't just grasp the concept of you not welcoming him with open arms. Let go of it." He tried.

She shrugged off his comment about Troy, as she changed the subject. "_I'm_ not suffering." She retorted. He abruptly stood up from his position on her bed.

"Not on the outside, but on the in. You can't tell me that you're not hurting too." He stated, shaking his head. This was it. It was his last chance to convince his cousin.

"Everyone can see it." He continued, as each word that came out of his mouth, grew in emphasis. "You can't say that you don't freaking love him. That you just want to forget what he's done for you in the past." He told her in disbelief. "You can't even tell me that you want to be this selfish, Gabriella." He shook his head.

"I know you better than that. Inside your heart, you've already forgiven him. You always forgive him no matter how much he fucks up." He said with confidence shining in his voice. "You want to get together with him right now." He rolled his eyes, before saying the next sentence he had in mind. "Hell, I bet you want to get freaky with him right this instant. It's just that stupid pride of yours that preventing you from doing so!"

"I-" She started, but was cut off by Cameron.

"Just admit it! Elle, I'm sick and tired of all this drama." He confessed truthfully, not really caring that he had interrupted her. "Admit that you're hurting on the inside and forgive him verbally and in person!"

Gabriella sighed, knowing that he was right. He had always been right. She bit her lip, avoiding what her cousin had just said. "I'm not going to let go of it, Cam." She told him, her voice soft, and sounding deflated.

"Just try, Ella. It's not that hard." He urged one last time, and turned around walking out of the room. Unfortunately, he didn't see the small nod Gabriella had emitted, moments after he had left.

**Mistakes? Plenty. **

**I know, I know, Gabriella was kinda moody in this chapter. But that's how she's supposed to be. Well, at least for right now.**

**On another note, thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate the support that comes from them. We've hit the 500 mark, if you haven't noticed. My goal is to get 600 by the end of the story, but I'll still be happy if we get close to it. Seeing that there are only three chapters left. Two regular ones, and an epilogue. **

**Hmm, if you ever get bored, try reading my other story, _The Mental Guy_. (; It's doing better than I thought it would.  
**

**Next update for this should be sometime this week. TMG will be updated soon too. Spring Break, baby! :D**

**-Ilyilyx3**


	25. The Unconquered Maze

**Much faster update. I wanted a little more feedback, but I owe you guys for never keeping my word. So, here it is. It only took TWO DAYS! Who's happy? d: Ehh? Ehh? Haha. A fair warning; you might not be so happy after this one.**

**(Disclaimer- Why must we keep on coming back to this? I. Own. Nothing. Except Melanie, but nobody really likes her… as of this chapter.)**

**This chapter is dedicated to: **_**strawberry.sparkle**_** and **_**xxxbethaniaxxx**_**, they're both new readers, and they spent about an hour reading the whole story, when someone should've been doing homework. (;**

**Who's That Girl**

**Chapter 23- The Unconquered Maze **

**Nobody's POV-**

"Just try, Ella. It's not that hard." He urged one last time, and turned around walking out of the room. Unfortunately, he didn't see the small nod Gabriella had emitted, moments after he had left.

* * *

"Hey Chad." Cameron greeted, as he sat down beside him.

"Hey Cameron." Chad replied, not looking up from his Sport's Illustrated magazine.

He nodded, before looking around, and noticing that everyone was gone except the two themselves. "Where's Troy?" He asked curiously.

"Bathroom." Chad answered.

Cameron nodded. "The girls?"

"Mall." He told him plainly.

"Why did they-" He started, as he was cut off by Chad.

"They wanted to go get Gabriella gifts." He answered simply.

Cameron raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Why didn't they just go down to the gift shop on the first floor?" He questioned. Chad shrugged in response.

"I don't know. I'm not a girl, dude." He replied, still flipping through the magazine. Cameron chuckled as he thought of what to say next.

"True, that. Or else Taylor would be a les on us." He told him, smirking.

Chad rolled his eyes. "Ha-ha, Cameron. You're so hilarious." He responded sarcastically.

"What about Jason, Zeke, and Ryan?" Cameron asked, making him crack a smile.

"Well, they were dragged to the mall with the girls." He answered, setting the magazine in his lap.

"What about you?" Chad shrugged.

"Jimmy's in surgery again." He replied, lowering his voice to a whispering tone. "Gabriella's hug almost killed him." Cameron looked at him in bewilderment.

"Jimmy?" He queried.

"My best friend!" Chad exclaimed in an obvious tone.

Cameron nodded, realizing who Jimmy was. "You mean that weird basketball you carry around?" He questioned, as Chad gaped at him. He huffed furiously, turning the other way.

"Some people wouldn't insult my friend." He spat out. Cameron scratched his head in confusion at Chad's behavior.

"Sorry?" He replied tentatively.

Chad turned back to him, laughing. "Nah. I was just kidding. To answer your question, I'm only here for Troy." Cameron nodded again.

"That makes more sense." He decided, as he leaned back into his uncomfortable chair next to Chad. "Wait, here is Jimmy though?"

Chad frowned. "My mom came and took him home." He answered.

"And that doesn't." Cameron muttered under his breath.

"So, what did Gabriella say?" Chad asked curiously.

Cameron shrugged. "Just that she's not going to try to forgive him." Chad nodded in response, as Cameron continued to talk. "It's kinda weird, though. Don't you think? They're meant to be. Troy only fed her a small white lie." He finished, as Chad shook his head.

"Not from her point of view." Cameron cocked his head to the side.

"What do you mean?" He questioned.

Chad pursed his lips, wondering if he should say anything. Cameron was her cousin after all, he decided. "Well, it's not because of the lie or the trust issue." He told him, not noticing that there was someone else standing next to them.

"Then what is it about?" Troy asked, with a raised eyebrow. Chad looked up at his best friend with wide eyes. Troy wasn't supposed to hear it.

"T-Troy! Hey Man." He greeted him nervously. There was a dead silence, where both Troy and Cameron were waiting for Chad to finish his previous quote. Troy sighed, realizing that he wasn't going to budge anytime soon.

"What's it about then?" He pressed again, this time, directing it toward Cameron.

He shrugged, genuinely not knowing. "Hey, don't look at me." He replied, as he pointed to Chad. "The basketball whisperer over there was just about to tell me." Troy raised his eyebrow, looking at his best friend.

"Chad?"

He threw him a sheepish look, as he ran his hand through his crazy curls. "I'm not good at explaining things." Troy and Cameron rolled their eyes.

"Just tell me." Troy ordered him, not receiving a reply back. "Come on Chad! I wanna know why that lie was so important to her." He said, leaning on the wall near them.

Chad shrugged at him. "It would be better if you asked her, yourself." He told him. "I mean, she did tell the rest of us."

Troy bit his lip furiously. He could feel him drawing the blood from his own lip. But he didn't care about the pain right now. All he cared about what why Gabriella had told their friends why she was mad at them. She lied to him about, when it actually was about the two of them. He definitely didn't get that. Wincing, at the sharper pain he was feeling, he leaned off of the wall, and stomped inside Gabriella's room, not saying anything else to the other two.

After hearing the door closing shut, Cameron looked at Chad suspiciously.

"She did not." He retorted. "Why did you tell him that?" Chad chuckled, folding his arms behind his head, and leaning his head against the wall.

"Think about, Cam." He replied smugly. "Troy goes running in there all angry, he gets her mad." He paused, smirking. "Eventually the anger breaks, and there you have it." He stated proudly. "We have two wild animals going at it. Just hope that they won't scar us for life if we accidentally walk in on them." He finished, pretending to grimace at the end of his statement.

"What if the others come back and go inside?"Cameron asked, playing along with his unlikely situation.

"We'll laugh at them, and run." Chad replied proudly, as Cameron chuckled in response.

"You're an open-minded guy, Chad." He told him. "Very open minded." He declared, seeing Chad playing with his afro.

* * *

Gabriella sat on her bed thinking about what Cameron had said. Most of the things that he had yelled at her were true. Not the getting freaky part though. But she probably should forgive Troy face to face. She just didn't know how to. As she thought of ways to say something, she heard the door opening again. She looked up and saw Troy himself.

"Hi Troy." She greeted softly. Instead of a salutation or a smile from him, she received him yelling a question at her.

"You told the rest of the gang, and not me?!" He questioned. "It's all about _us_ for god's sake!" The anger and frustration, every emotion pent up from the past couple of days was really starting to get to him.

Her head shot up at the tone and volume of his voice. "What?"

"You are such a fucking hypocrite Gabriella!" He yelled at her, shaking his head.

"How am I a hypocrite?" She asked in confusion.

"You lied to _me_!" He responded angrily.

"The reason why you rejected me." He clarified for her, once he saw her face contorting into a perplexed expression. "You didn't care about the white lie I made."

Gabriella looked taken aback at his comment. How did he know that?

"Yes, I did." She stated sternly, forgetting about her previous thoughts of forgiving him. Instead, she focused on sounding real as possible. "It just showed that you can't be trusted." She continued, keeping a straight face.

He sighed. "Gabriella!" He exclaimed in frustration. She didn't respond, she just wanted him to say what he needed to.

He let out an angry breath as he called her name out again. She grunted in exasperation.

"What?" She screeched at him.

"Tell me the real reason." Troy demanded furiously.

"I already did." The brunette replied, as she shrugged.

"That's not what Chad told me." He said, taking a step closer to her.

She rolled her eyes, trying to think of something to say. "Well, maybe he's lying." She uttered out, making him scoff.

"Maybe you're the one who's lying." He retorted.

"I'm not!" She cried, as she shook her head at him. "It's all about the trust." She lied. "You can't have a relationship work without it. You know that." She finished, biting her lip. If he didn't get off of her case soon, she'd just blurt it to him out of anger.

He viciously ran his hand through his hair in irritation. "Cut the freaking bull Gabriella!" He shouted.

"It's because you don't love me!" She exclaimed unintentionally.

He chuckled menacingly at her, shaking his head again.

"What the hell does lying have to do with that?" He spat out. "I've loved you my whole life. As a sister at first, and then as a lover. Which is right now!" He threw his hands out in distress. "What's telling you I don't?"

She closed her eyes tightly, before opening them again. "When you lied." She replied in a small voice.

"Evaluate, Brie." He said, his voice breaking in anger.

He sighed, when she didn't respond. He took in a deep breath to control his anger, before lowering his tone of voice.

"We've been truthful with each other, our whole lives. Can't you do so right now?" He asked calmly. She sighed in defeat before answering him.

"I needed to see if you would hurt me." She stated, looking away from him.

He stared at her in befuddlement. "What?"

Gabriella took in a deep breath before deciding to tell him the truth.

"I knew that you would try to protect me, Troy." She began, sighing. "But I still had hoped that you wouldn't lie to me. If you had told me the truth, then you would've saved us from the hurt in the future." She explained, as she noticed that he was staring at her blankly.

"Don't you get it?" She asked quietly, as she played with her hands that were currently situated in her lap. "Most of the time, you have to hurt the people you love to save them." She continued, shrugging. "Trust is a petty part of this, Troy. The only thing that you proved to me by lying was not that I couldn't trust you, but that you won't go all the way for me." She expressed, her voice starting to break.

"You'd rather take a shortcut." She told him, taking in a deep breath. "Sure there would've been a lot of drama. But it would've been worth it." She paused, before she continued her confession. "If you loved me, you would've gone through all of it for me." She finished, raising her eyebrow at him when he looked at him in disbelief.

"That's a stupid reason, Gabriella." He said, shaking his head. "Either way there would've been drama!" He exclaimed.

"Not-" He shook his head, as he interrupted her before she could finish her statement.

"I knew that I was taking a risk when I told you that lie." Troy interjected. "But I did it for your own benefit. Doesn't that show you I love you enough?" He questioned her boldly. "There's even more drama with that decision."

Gabriella bit her lip. "This all goes back to the trust thing. It just shows that you don't love me?" She tried weakly. He groaned.

"Oh my god, Gabriella!" He yelled at her. "What the hell is wrong with you!? Did losing all of that blood do something to your head?" He asked furiously, as he rolled his eyes. "You're questioning my love, when I should be questioning yours!" He snapped angrily.

The brunette shook her head at him. "This isn't about my love for you." She replied. He nodded at her.

"Of course it's not just about you. It's about our relationship, if we even have one anymore." He said, wanting to get his point across. "You're asking if I love you." He told her, as he doubted that she really meant that. "And you definitely should know."

He shook his head at himself. "If you don't, then I'll clarify it for you. I damn well love more than I should!" He paused, looking up at her to see if she was looking at him. She wasn't. He sighed, as he spoke his next sentence. "But what isn't known is your love for me." He said slowly.

"If you loved me, you wouldn't have tricked me and lied to me, first." He stated sternly, as he shook his head, realizing what was really happening between them. "You're causing all of this drama for us, and for what?" He questioned in annoyance. He threw his hands out to show his clear frustration. "For us to never be?" He asked in disbelief.

"You're driving a steak between us Gabriella." He told her in exasperation. "It's like you've put us in this huge maze. We're both so far from each other, and even farther from reaching the prize." He paused, as he looked at her sadly, noticing that she still wasn't looking at him. She was looking down instead, her hair, shielding her face. "It's like you don't even want us to be together!" He exclaimed. "I'm trying my best, Brie. But every time I've come close to succeeding, you stop me. You're always preventing us from getting out of that maze."

He sighed, when she still didn't say anything. '_That should've evoked something in her.'_ He thought. He waited a couple moments for her to say something. She still didn't respond, making him look at her in disbelief. He nodded sadly, taking in the full rejection from her. He took in a deep breath, before replying.

"If that's your ultimate goal," He pressed. "keeping us from getting together, then fine." He decided, shaking his head painfully. "I'll stop."

Tears continued to weld up in her eyes as she relished on what he was saying. She didn't want them to separate. She was just confused at the moment. She didn't expect it to come out like this.

"Stop what?" She asked him, with a slight nervousness in her voice. She knew what he meant, she wasn't that dense. She just really didn't want it to be what he was about to say.

He took in another breath before he spoke his last word to her.

"Trying." He told her quietly, his blue eyes dulling for the third time in his life. He walked out of the room, slamming the door blindly, on the way out.

Gabriella looked up at the door that he had just walked out of. Her eyes were red, as her face was stained with tears.

She clenched her eyelids shut again, trying to prevent more tears from leaking out of her brown eyes.

She was trying hard not to let the pain and hurt overcome her body.

**Okay, who's not happy now? –insert raised hand here- Me too. And I'm the one who's writing it.**

**At least things get better next chapter. (:**

**The next one is MUCH longer, and slightly happier, trust me.**

**I'm kinda thinking that I might add one/two/three more chapters than planned. What do you guys think? Just _maybe_.  
**

**-Ilyilyx3**

**Sneak Peak- (I've been forgetting to add these haven't I? Haha. Oh, and they're in no particular order. If they were, you'd so figure it out.)**

"_**He didn't come…"**_

* * *

"_**Gabriella, if you really want him back, then why don't you chase after him for once?"**_

* * *

"_**Melanie?!"**_

"_**What the hell are you doing here?"**_

"_**She's with me."**_

**Whoever hasn't been paying attention to my hints, is in for a real shocker.**

**Oh. And for all of you _TMG_ readers, minor setback. I had the chapter finished, and I was going to post it today, along with this one. But, my brother deleted it. ):  
**

******If it helps though, I have a third of it rewritten already. (: Not long until I finish and post it.**

**You can thank spring break. Haha.**

**Review!**


	26. Multiple Recognitions

**I'm backk! (:**

**This chapter was originally going to be the last one, but when I was three quarters done with it, I noticed that it was getting to be too long. d: So I cut it in half. That means, one more chapter after this, and maybe an epilogue.**

**And regards to the extremely long amount of time I took to get this chapter out;**

**Thank you for everyone's patience! The next chapter of **_**TMG**_** will be posted tomorrow, or the next day. (I'm already planning to do my math homework in the library tomorrow. I'm not going to do my 10 page essay there too! It only is a 20 minutes lunch. :P)**

**Dedicated to: _zanetkakiss_ (for being a really great fan of this story), and _nikkayyfoshoo_ (apologies for being a murderer. (; )**

**Who's That Girl**

**Chapter 24- Multiple Recognitions **

**Nobody's POV-**

"Trying." He told her quietly, his blue eyes dulling for the third time in his life. He walked out of the room, slamming the door blindly, on the way out.

Gabriella looked up at the door that he had just walked out of. Her eyes were red, as her face was stained with tears.

She clenched her eyelids shut again, trying to prevent more tears from leaking out of her brown eyes.

She was trying hard not to let the pain and hurt overcome her body.

--

It had been two weeks since her talk, or yelling session, with Troy. Much to Gabriella's misfortune, Troy had stayed true to his word.

He had stopped. He stopped visiting her, he stopped coming to the hospital, he stopped talking to her, he didn't reply to any of the phone calls the rest had set up to get him and Gabriella to talk. Nothing.

He had actually stopped everything that had to do with her.

Gabriella knew that it was her fault that is had happened. That she was the one who initiated the slight separation between the two, but she just couldn't help but let the sorrow get to her. Without Troy in her life, it felt weird, and unfulfilling. Sure, she had fought with him before, including the Melanie case, but he was still in her life in one way or another. But right now? Nothing.

None of her friends would talk about him either. And it scared her.

Did something happen to Troy?

She bit her lip tentatively, as she sat on her bed, waiting for Cameron to return, so that the two would be able to go back to her house. Her cousin had assured her that everything would be fine once they got there. The rest had cleaned up all of her blood, and her rearranged everything. Sharpay, who was still guilt ridden, had hired a contractor to redo her room. Giving it a nicer flare, to help her forget about the past. She was actually happy to hear about that.

The brunette was brought back to reality, once she heard footsteps walking down the hallway, and towards her room. Her eyes lit up slightly, thinking it was Troy, as she looked up. She forced a small smile to her lips, when she saw that is was Cameron.

"Are you ready to go, Elle?" He asked, picking up her bag of possessions.

She nodded distractedly, looking outside the window. She just wanted one sign of him coming. Gabriella sighed, seeing that nothing had changed or appeared in the parking lot, she sighed.

Sensing his cousin's obvious distress, he placed her bag back onto the floor. He took a seat beside, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"What's wrong?" She shook her head, indicating it was nothing, when he could clearly see that it was.

"Seriously, Elle." He told her sternly.

She pursed her lips tiredly, running her hand through her hair, trying to get it out of her eyes.

"It's nothing, really." She tried, as she closed her eyes, after seeing the look he was giving her. "Okay, okay." She opened her eyes, focusing her attention back onto what was outside of the window.

"It's just, I…" She bit her lower lip again. "He didn't come…" She trailed off quietly. She knew that her cousin would understand.

And he did, seeing how he hugged her.

"He's just a little off, Ellie." He convinced, trying to give her some sort of comfort on the situation. "Give it some time." The brunette shook her head fiercely.

"It's been two weeks though!" She exclaimed in frustration. "What happened?"

Gabriella sighed once again. "Usually, he would try to do something by the third day." She explained, as he nodded, thinking of some way to excuse Troy.

"When was the last time you two fought like this?" He asked, letting go of their hug.

She opened her mouth, before closing it, pausing to figure when their last serious fight had been.

"Summer of eighth grade." The brunette answered after a while of thinking.

"And how long has it been since then?" He asked, raising his eyebrow.

She frowned in confusion, "About three years." Cameron nodded, as he told her the excuse he had cleverly come up with.

"People change, El." He told her, "Sometimes, you might not even recognize it." He finished, making her shaking her head determinedly.

"But not him." She interjected, staring outside the window again. There still wasn't any sign of him. She sighed tearfully; she would've done anything just to see a glimpse of his old beat up truck.

"He's Troy." She breathed, her voice laced with sorrow.

Cameron frowned to himself, not wanting to utter the next sentence that was traveling to his mind. He patted her back, to soothe her slightly.

"He's also the guy you recently rejected." He stated quietly, not wanting to upset her.

She groaned in frustration. "I know, I know." She muttered, tearing her eyes away from the window to face her cousin. "It was my fault… But still, Cameron." She paused, as she sighed once again. "I had faith in his persistence to come through again. I just never expected him to stay true to his word."

He stayed quiet for a couple of minutes after her statement, as he tried to think of how to get her in a happier mood. The rest of the gang, would surely kill him if she brought home was sad. He finally thought of something, as he nodded, poking her cheek playfully.

"Stop thinking about him, Elle." He told her, smirking when he saw her lips curl up from the frown it once wore. "Every time you do, I'm going to poke you."

She rolled her eyes, at his promise. Poking her was always his trick to get her to laugh.

"You are so not going to do that." She accused, gaping when he poked both of her cheeks. "I didn't even say anything about him!"

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Call if a freebie if you want."

"Why-" She began, and was cut off by another poke to the arm.

"Come on-" She huffed, as she was interrupted again, by another poke.

"It's not-" She glared at his continuous laughter, and the light poke to her stomach.

"Cameron!" She exclaimed in aggravation, having moved approximately two feet away from him. Her face wore a shadow of a smile.

He controlled his laughter, as he looked down at her, raising his eyebrow at the change in her demeanor. "Yes?" He questioned, poking her in the stomach once again, chuckling when she answered him with a grin on her face.

"You suck."

--

A distinct blonde followed the man before her. She absolutely hated going into public. Ever since Gabriella and Troy's stupid friends pulled her wig off, and destroyed her reputation, the public had been following her mercilessly. She couldn't even go into a park, much less a friend's house, without being photographed by the annoying paparazzi. It seemed like everyone was waiting for the heir to the massive Green fortune to mess up again. Or at least have another fake thing to add to her list or unreal body parts.

She looked up to the guy before her, and couldn't believe that she hadn't figured out his true identity before. How could she have been so stupid?

Melanie sighed, as she continued to follow Mark's lead. She definitely couldn't believe that she was returning here again.

She stared at the door before her, before she was lightly shoved into its direction. She scoffed, and looked up at Mark, sending him daggers. He shrugged in response, as he motioned to the doorbell, indicating her to ring it.

"Fine." She huffed, before doing so.

The mahogany door opened before the two, revealing two extremely perturbed and shocked teenagers.

"Melanie!?" Chad spat out angrily, with venom in his voice. His once happy expression had turned into a very dangerous one. The situation was the same for the blonde beside him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sharpay hissed, placing her hand on her hip. Her brown eyes were sending Melanie a dark glare. Melanie tried her best to not let Sharpay intimidate her, but she was starting to fail miserably. Mark saw so and decided to step in.

"She's with me." He said daringly, stepping out of his place, so the two teens could see him clearly.

As Sharpay and Chad's line of vision focused on him, they both had changed drastically from angry to surprise.

"Doug?!"

--

Troy Bolton laid in his bed, clenching his eyes shut as tightly as he could. He knew that Gabriella would be discharging from the hospital today –he had heard the news from Chad himself. He so desperately wanted to go and see her, but he wanted to leave her alone. She'd wanted it, and he was going to give it to her. Even if it was hurting him, himself.

He knew that he should've gone and tried once again, but he was tired of it, tired of everything that had to do with Gabriella Montez. Every time he did try, he'd get shot down by her, or something would get in his way. What difference would it make this time? Maybe it was fate, he decided. She wasn't meant to be more than a best friend to him. No matter what else his heart believed. He let out a long breath he had been holding in from before.

Maybe it _was_ a good thing Melanie barged into his life.

Maybe _that_ was meant to happen.

He opened his eyes, once he felt something tickling his foot. He looked down, and saw his little brother grinning innocently at him.

"Hi Troy." He greeted, plopping on the bed, beside his older brother.

Troy smiled at him, before sitting up. "Hey Daniel."

"Are you 'kay?" The young Bolton brother asked, playing with Troy's fingers. Troy raised an eyebrow to his brother's question.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He answered.

Daniel raised his head up, to look at his brother clearly. "You sure? You look sad."

He was about to lie again, but decided against it. What example would that be for Daniel? "I kinda am, I guess." He replied truthfully, making Daniel frown.

"Why?"

"Gabriella." Troy told him simply.

Daniel nodded, understanding fully. He hadn't seen Gabriella in weeks. "Where's she been?" He queried.

"Around." He stated, lifting his brother into his lap. "She's been busy." Daniel sighed at the short answers his older brother was giving him.

"With what?" He questioned, as Troy shrugged in response.

"Just… " He trailed off, trying to find the right words to say. "Some stuff."

Daniel rolled his eyes, before realizing a key element to the change that had taken place. "Where's Melon?" He asked suspiciously.

"She's gone for good." He answered, chuckling when he saw Daniel's giddy expression.

"Yay! She was a meanie butt." Troy nodded in agreement.

"She was, wasn't she?" Daniel clapped his hands together, extremely happy that Troy was over the blonde witch.

"A big one!" He exclaimed, his face reflecting an exuberant expression.

"That's very true, Danny." Troy responded, as the two brother fell into a comfortable silence.

"Troy?" Daniel called, breaking the silence.

"Yeah?" He answered.

Daniel got off of Troy's lap, and sat beside him on the bed. "Will you eva get Gabi as a wife?" Troy's eyes widened in shock at his question.

"What?" He asked, in a surprised voice, as Daniel looked at him weirdly.

"You and Gabi." He repeated slowly. "Hubby and Wife."

Troy raised an eyebrow. "Why would you ask that?"

Daniel shrugged himself, not still getting why his brother was so shook up by a simple question.

"You two are cool, so it'd would be awesome!" He exclaimed, in a 'duh' tone.

"Way betta than you and Melon." He added, as an afterthought, after remembering all of the times Melanie had been mean to him when she came over.

Troy smiled at his younger brother's view on the situation between himself and Gabriella. He only wished that is were simple as he portrayed it. But getting together with Gabriella wasn't decided by Daniel. It was decided by Troy and Gabriella, themselves. Troy only wished he could just get past that stupid maze, and marry her someday. Should he try one more time?

Daniel stared at his brother's far away look in confusion. Why wasn't he answering? "Are you?" He pressed again, his face giving off a innocent vibe. Troy bit his lower lip wondering about the situation, himself.

"Maybe, Danny. We'll see." Troy told him. Maybe, _possibly_, he'd try again. For Daniel's sake.

Daniel smiled contently at his brother's answer, as he laid back on the bed.

"Sounds like a great plan."

**Little Daniel returns!**

**Haha. I was originally going to have one of Troy's parents talk to him, but then I reread, and remembered about Daniel. He fitted better. Plus, I got to insult Melanie! Melon, HAH!**

**Sorry for any common mistakes I made in the chapter. I'm in a rush to get off the laptop.**

**And thanks for the continuously awesome reviews! Keep them coming. (;**

**-Ilyilyx3**

_**Sneak Peak-**_

"_**Let's start over?"**_

"_**Sure."**_

_**--**_

"_**Gabriella, if you really want him back, then why don't you chase after him for once?"**_

_**-- **_**it was supposed to be in this chapter, but it didn't fit, like I planned it too. **

"_**What the fuck?"**_

"_**I'm not here to manipulate you."**_

_**--**_

"_**So, what happened?"**_

**And now I leave you to ponder. :P**


	27. Starting Over

**Umm, sorry? Haha. I know I say it a lot.**

**As you all have known it's been…months since I've updated this. I even missed the one year anniversary! But I have good reasons. If you've been following my bio, you would know why. ;)**

**So. I was thinking of rewriting this and TMG completely. But, a friend of mine gave me a new perspective of it all. Therefore, I'll continue this, and leave it as is. Though. I might rewrite this chapter. I wrote half of it during my 'I-Hate-My-Writing-Mood', and I haven't edited this yet.  
**

**Umm. The sneak peaks are slightly twisted around. Haha. Anyway, this is the last chapter of **_**Who's That Girl**_**. Just so you guys are aware. And…that's it. I'll stop rambling now. :)**

**Enjoy.**

**Who's That Girl**

**Chapter 25- Starting Over **

**Nobody's POV-**

"Maybe, Danny. We'll see." Troy told him. Maybe, _possibly_, he'd try again. For Daniel's sake.

Daniel smiled contently at his brother's answer, as he laid back on the bed.

"Sounds like a great plan."

--

"What the fuck?" He muttered under his breath. The attempt was futile once he saw her roll her eyes.

"I'm not here to manipulate you." She replied, taking another step towards him. She hesitantly took a seat beside the seething boy. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, he had beaten her to it.

"What are you here for then?"

She opened her mouth to respond. "You-"

"Me?" He exclaimed in disbelief. "I already told you! I don't want to see you anymore."

Melanie sighed in aggravation. This was clearly going nowhere. "I-"

"Seriously, just get away from me."

She huffed, and abruptly stood up, putting on her best glare.

"Look. I didn't want to come here on my own." She began. "So shut your big mouth up and listen."

"I'm not sorry for what I did." She growled, flipping him off when he was about to interrupt her again.

"Shut. It."

He nodded, and back away, sensing the intense anger in her tone.

"You were mine, and Gabriella was taking you away from me. On purpose or not, whatever." Melanie dismissed, shaking her hand. "She was my competition, so I eliminated her from the picture."

She shook her head furiously at the stubborn boy. "I swear, Troy. Try to interrupt me again, and I'll go grab Stacy and we'll personally castrate you and pass it off as an amputation." She smirked once she saw he gulp, finally closing his mouth.

"I caused her pain, and drove her towards depression. I made you and your friends turn on her with my amazing persuading skills." She flaunted, shrugging.

He tried to retort, but stopped at the last minute seeing her imitate a knife cutting her throat with her hand. "I mean it Bolton. Open that damn mouth of yours again, and you won't have any children in the future." She smirked when he backed off.

"I was happy with the result, believe me I was and still am." She said, smugly. "I now know that I can have anything I want."

Melanie laughed, thinking how amazing she was to be doing this for someone she hated. "But with everything, I still want more." She paused.

"One more thing to be precise." She held up one finger. "I want you-"

"I don't fucking care if I'm not a man tomorrow." He muttered to himself, as he stood up, hovering over her for once. "Get this through your thick skull, Melanie; I don't want you back now." Troy growled out. "And I never will. You're cold-hearted, a bitch, stupid, fake all around-" He stopped ranting once he felt a slap to his head and nails raking and digging heavily across his skin.

"I swear, Bolton you better learn how to sleep with your eyes open." She warned. "You didn't fucking let me finish!"

He winced at the shrillness of her voice, and as he felt the scratches she had made, take their full effect.

"I want you…to stop being such a pussy and to go to the Peanut Diner tomorrow at noon." He looked at her in surprise and confusion.

"What?" She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I seriously mean it. If you don't do it, and I find out, I will personally hunt you down, and make you get plastic surgery to become a woman." She threatened. "You know what I am capable of."

He didn't believe her for a second, but after seeing her serious face, and remembering what she had accomplished in the last month, he obliged.

"Fine, I'll go." Troy replied reluctantly.

She grinned evilly at him. "Good boy."

And with that, she sauntered off, leaving him in a confused and angry mess.

--

The dirty blonde haired boy walked slowly, down the parking lot, wondering what stupid scheme he was a part of now. He opened the door, and walked inside, looking around in question once he saw that the entire establishment was empty. He was just about to turn around and walk away, damning whatever consequences he would receive from Melanie, when his breath caught in his throat at the person in front of him.

"Gabriella?" He breathed in disbelief.

She jumped slightly, before turning around and smiling softly at him. "Hi Troy."

"What are you doing here?"

"Long story." She answered after a small pause, "Would you like to walk with me? We kind of have a lot to talk about."

He nodded his head. "We definitely do."

"Come on."

--

"_Come in, Doug." She told him warmly, before turning to Melanie. "You too." She added hesitantly._

_As the five of them walked into the living room, they were all met by a variety of facial expressions._

"_What's she doing here?" Taylor spat, looking wearily at Melanie._

_Doug stepped in front of her. "Now, now. Before you guys kill her, listen."_

_As he and the rest began to talk, Taylor sat to the side, the gears in her head spinning, turning, and putting every piece of the puzzle together._

"_It all makes sense!" She exclaimed, attracting everyone's attention._

_She grinned as she shook her head at Doug. "You are so sneaky, you know that?" Doug shrugged and laughed._

"_Thanks, Tay."_

"_So, what happened?" Cameron questioned in confusion, voicing everyone's thoughts. _

"_Can I tell it?" Taylor asked, as Doug nodded and shrugged. "Sure." _

_She grinned, as she told what had happened, hitting every detail right on the dot. Her IQ wasn't high for nothing. By the time Taylor had finished the story, everyone had had shocked faces detailed onto their faces. All excluding Doug, Melanie, and Gabriella that is._

"_You were a double all this time?" Cameron asked slowly. "You were the one who helped Gabriella, and ultimately saved her and my uncle?"_

"_Pretty much."_

"_How though? You crashed into Nathan's car!" Chad accused, as Zeke nodded in agreement. "And you almost killed Gabriella!"_

_Doug sighed and nodded. "Yes to both accusations, but I did leave both of the Montezes ways out."_

"_He didn't kill Nathan like he was supposed to." Taylor added in. "And he loosened the ropes that held Gabriella together."_

_Melanie's jaw dropped open in shock and anger. "What the fuck, Mark!"_

_Doug shook his head. "Not now."_

"_You still hurt them though." Sharpay stated, glaring at him._

"_But guys, think about it this way; what if Melanie had hired some other guy?"_

_Suddenly, the room was dead silent, as everyone reveled in what Taylor had just pointed out. She was right once again. What would have happened if Melanie had hired another person to assassinate Gabriella or Nathan? No one wanted to think that negatively._

_Ryan shook his head in defeat. "Could you at least tell us just one thing?" Doug nodded._

"_What thing is that?"_

"_Why?"_

"_Why did you do everything you did?" He elaborated, after seeing the look of confusion on his face._

"_Claire and Joyce." Cameron answered for him, finally understanding the entire situation._

_Kelsi raised an eyebrow. "Who?"_

"_My wife and daughter." He answered. "Her father had left behind an enormous amount of debts. What else could I do?" He asked rhetorically. "Just ignore them and let my family get hurt?"_

_And midst of the discussion and dead silence, no one had noticed the blonde and brunette that had left already._

--

"_Why are you following me up to my room?" Gabriella asked, not turning to the blonde behind her._

_Melanie shrugged. "No reason. Why, is it bothering you, Bitch?"_

"_Nope."_

_The blonde watched Gabriella sit at her desk in confusion, as she typed away on her computer.  
_

"_Stop ignoring me!"_

"_I'm not. I'm just not talking to you, or acknowledging you." She answered, continuing her work._

_Melanie threw her hands out in anger. "I don't get this!__"_

"_Get what?"  
_

"_Why the hell aren't you bitching at me?!"_

"_I got over it." The blonde rolled her eyes._

"_Sure. You're still hung up over this situation. You're just pretending to not care. Nice."_

_She glared at the girl before her, when she didn't receive a response._

"_See? You're doing it right now." Melanie rolled her eyes when Gabriella still hadn't responded._

"_You wanna know why it was easy for me to get Troy and those imbeciles away from you?"_

_Melanie smirked at Gabriella's slight flinch. "It's because you're stupid." She continued._

"_What?"_

"_You heard me. Every fucking time there's danger on the horizon for you, you get scared. You run away, or you ignore it."_

_The brunette turned around completely and raised an eyebrow at her. "I didn't ignore you. Don't you remember the nose job?"_

_She snorted. "I hardly call that not ignoring me. You should've, no, could've done more than that."_

"_Do you not remember when I first cussed at you?" She asked, when Gabriella turned her back to her. "You did nothing. I ran a sob story to Troy, you seethed and left." She spat. "I ran a sob story about the nose thing to Afrohead and Co, and you got slapped. Then what'd you do? You ran." Melanie scoffed. "Hell, every other thing I did to you, ended up with you leaving in anger."_

"_I still hit-"_

_Melanie cut her off, turning her around, and grabbing both her wrists. "Then what about these?"_

"_You fucking cut yourself to take out all of your anger. You wanted to die." She shook her head, and let go of Gabriella's wrists. "If I were you, I would've gotten revenge with or without those dumbasses you call friends."_

"_But what did you do? You took it all out on yourself. Just because you were that vulnerable, and weak."_

_Gabriella gulped, taking in what Melanie had said. Had she been the dumb and scared one? Was she the one who caused her own downfall?_

"_Why are you telling me all this?" She asked quietly, staring disgustedly at her own wrists._

"_Because. You need a fucking wake up call." She scolded. "No one's going to make things happen for you. You have to get off your fat ass, and do something about it." She spat."But. I will help you do one thing."_

_Gabriella looked up in surprise. "And what's that?"_

"_I'm going to help you get Troy back." The brunette raised an eyebrow._

_Melanie rolled her eyes. "Don't fucking think we're best friends, or I'm on your side now. I'm just doing this because Mark, Doug, whatever, is making me."_

"_I don't know if I should be thankful or frightened." Gabriella muttered under her breath._

_The blonde glared at her. "Shut up. Now. __Do you really want him back?" Gabriella sighed, and eventually nodded._

"_Then why don't you chase after him for once?"_

"_Look. I have a plan," Melanie sighed, after receiving no response from Gabriella. "You know what you want to say to him?"_

"_Not really."_

_Melanie took a look at the clock on the wall. "Tough luck. You're gonna see him tomorrow."_

"_What the heck? How is that-" With that, the blonde had left the room._

--

"Brie-"

"Troy-"

They smiled sheepishly at each other. Troy shrugged and rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"You can go first," He offered. "Really." He assured her after seeing her hesitation.

Gabriella nodded. "Okay. Well, where do I start?" She asked rhetorically.

"Umm. I guess I want to say…I'm sorry." He raised an eyebrow.

"You're saying sorry to me?" She nodded. "I'm the one at fault here."

She shook her head. "No. I am basically. I thought about what you said the other day," She paused. "And you were right. I didn't want us to be together."

"Just listen, Troy." She cut in, after seeing his look of hurt and confusion.

"I didn't want us to be together because I didn't want to ruin the life-long friendship we have…or had." She smiled and laughed sadly.

"As cliché as that sounds, it's true."

"I know it was a stupid reason, but it's just how I felt." She sighed. "What you and I have together is…simply indescribable. And honestly? I was really shocked when one single person broke it so easily." She closed her eyes.

"When Melanie came along, I just started doubting things. I didn't know what to think. I hated how our bond was broken up by lies."

"But we can still build it up again, right?"

She smiled, realizing that he understood her. That she didn't have to explain herself entirely like she'd thought she had. Their relationship was still the same, it had just been hiding for a while, and now it's back full force. Most importantly, that he still knew her, and she still knew him.

"Yeah. Which is why I'm hoping for us to start over?" She proposed.

He raised an eyebrow. "How come?"

"I just think this way would be better." She sighed. "And hopefully in doing this, we'll become even stronger."

He was silent for a moment. "Do we have to start over completely?"

"Mostly." She answered, smiling sheepishly. "I don't think I can handle not having you in my life any longer." He chuckled in agreement.

"Will we eventually be able give a shot at being an 'us'?" She nodded, and he grinned in response.

"I promise you we'll eventually conquer the maze." Gabriella said after a small silence, remembering his words at the hospital. "You won't be the only one fighting this time." She assured him, as he embraced her tightly.

"Then let's start over."

**Was that confusing or what?**

**Haha. I know it wasn't my best. But as I said, part of it was written during a bad time. What do you guys think? I bet there are a million loose ends I didn't tie. But I felt that this was a great place to end it at.**

**Reviews? Yes please.**

**-Ilyilyx3.**

**P.S. There **_**might**_**, **_**possibly**_**, be an epilogue. I've been thinking of not posting one. But we'll see. As for now, this'll stay incomplete. ;)**


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